


The God of Broadway

by PrincessofAsgard18



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Jealous Loki (Marvel), Jealousy, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki as The Phantom of the Opera, Love, Lust, Music, Passion, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:33:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29024274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessofAsgard18/pseuds/PrincessofAsgard18
Summary: Anneliese and her older brother go to Broadway with the hopes of making their musical dreams come true. However, all their hopes are shattered when Anneliese's brother gets kidnapped by mysterious God. With courage and bravery, she enters the creepy catacombs, willing to sacrifice herself for her brother.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. The Characters

**Author's Note:**

> Plot written by Alexadrite Ward.

Anneliese Romero

James Romero

Loki Laufeyson

Bucky Barnes

Pietro Maximoff

Wanda Maximoff

Skyla

Julian Dawson

Natasha Romanoff

Isabella Romanoff

Tony Stark

Rhodey Rhodes

Eliana Jones

Max Robbins


	2. New York, The United States

Two figures dressed in casual clothes gazed up at the massive statue, The Statue of Liberty. One of the figures, a young woman, stared at the statue in fascination. The other figure, a man who seemed to look be a year or two older then her, smiled at her.   
  
“New York, Anneliese. We’re finally in New York.”   
  
“New York…” the young woman whispered, her eyes still focusing on the majesty of the statue.   
  
They were actually here, in New York, just as they had always dreamed.   
  
The man sighed and puts his arm around the girl’s shoulder, gently guiding her away from the majestic statue.  
  
“Come,” he said.  
  
“We must get to the Theatre, for that is a treasure of the city in its own right.”  
  
Anneliese nodded her head, although she did not look away from the statue until it was out of her sight. The two walked quickly amongst the busy New Yorkers of all social classes. From the wealthy who rode in carriages and wore the finest of silks, to the beggars who were extremely filthy because of poverty. Beauty and poverty was everywhere in the city, but none of tarnished the wonder that Anneliese was seeing in the city.  
  
Finally, after a great deal of walking, the two of them reached the very reason they had come to New York in the first place. There it, the beautiful and great Theatre Broadway, a treasure in its own right, just as the man had said. They gazed up at the grand masterpiece, their breath escaping their throats as stone statues stared back at them. Anneliese was lost in wonder, but she also felt a strange shiver run down her spine.  
  
Could it be possible for the buildings to have eyes?   
  
She knew that it was foolish notion, but still… it seemed almost as if the building was staring back at her, searching her very soul.   
  
“Anneliese?”  
  
The girl woke from her trance with a slight jump, “Yes, James?”  
  
She quickly followed him, since he was a few feet ahead of her. Anneliese blushed and quickly followed, walking with him up the stairs towards the main entrance.  
  
They had come to New York with the hopes to start a new life. Anneliese and James had been born and raised in the country; their father was a pianist from England who had come to the United States with hope of playing in a great orchestra. However, before he could even begin to make his dream come true, he met a beautiful American woman and the two of them fell madly in love with each other. The woman, Anneliese and James’ mother, was the daughter of a rich aristocrat and their father had not a lot of money, barely enough to please the woman’s snobbish parents, who of course refused the union. The two ran away to the country side of England, where they were married by a village priest. They kept themselves hidden, praying that woman’s family would not find them and force them apart. It seemed however, that instead, the woman’s parents had cut her off the family completely, never once trying to keep in touch with her.   
  
But despite this sadness, Anneliese and James’ parents made their lives and their home a happy one. Anneliese could not remember a day that she, nor her brother, weren’t loved by them. And while some would examine their humble childhood and upbringing with disgust, neither of them wouldn’t have had it any other way.   
  
And yet at this very moment, as both she and her older brother passed through the grand doors of Broadway, for the first time Anneliese began to feel a bit embarrassed about who she was and where she came from. There were only few people in the grand hall, but the ones who were there were elegantly dressed in suit and dresses made out of fine linen, silk, and lace. The women wore tall hats with plush feathers, and the men wore top hats and some carried handkerchiefs in their suit pockets. It was the looks that both Anneliese and her brother received that made her cheeks burn red; it was the look of a person who was thinking, you don’t belong here.  
  
“James…” Anneliese whispered softly.   
  
“Perhaps this isn’t a good idea…”  
  
Her brother, who was lost in awe of the room and didn’t notice any of the hostile looks, turned his head, looking at his sister as if she had announced she hated music! Which was far from the truth, for he knew his sister’s biggest passion was music.  
  
“What are you saying?” he hissed softly, pulling her off to the side.   
  
“You thought that coming to New York was a wonderful idea, why are you so against the thought now?”   
  
Anneliese bit her lip and looked around, trying to ignore the elegant men and women who looked at them with disgust.  
  
“We just… I don’t know if we can fit in here,” she whispered, feeling her cheeks burn more brightly, especially at the look her brother gave her when she uttered the words.   
  
Yet before he had the opportunity to say something, a man in a maroon uniform and a small beard appeared before the two of them.  
  
“May I help you?” the man asked, although anyone could tell by his tone that helping someone was the last thing he wanted to do.  
  
James smiled and gave a short bow, “Sir, I have come with the hopes that there might be an opening in your company’s orchestra. I am a violinist, and while I do not like to boast, I have been told by many, even nobility, that I play exceptionally. In fact, I studied music at the conservatory-“   
  
“Yes, yes, yes, that is all very well,” the uniformed man muttered, waving his hand to stop James from babbling.  
  
“And who is this?” the man asked, staring at Anneliese who looked away in shyness and embarrassment.  
  
“Oh, my sister, a fine singer if I may say. She-“  
  
“We don’t need singers,” the man grumbled.  
  
“We have too many singers at the moment, if you ask me. But… there may be a place for you, sir,” the man the pointed behind him to a door that led down to a dark corridor.   
  
“The managers are watching a rehearsal for next week’s performance. They are the ones you would truly wish to speak to. I don’t know if they’ll hire you, the season has already been planned, but… one of our violinists has… gone missing…”   
  
Anneliese’s brow furrowed at the news.  
  
Missing? What did that mean?   
  
“I would not wish to take someone’s place-“ James began, but the man in the uniform quickly cut him off.  
  
“Just go through that door, but be very quiet, Eliana Jones is rehearsing.”  
  
Both Anneliese and James exchanged confused looks at the name, and then looked back at the uniformed man.  
  
“Is Eliana Jones a great singer?” Anneliese quickly asked before the man walked away from them.  
  
The man grimaced, “Some… would think so…”   
  
Her brother quickly pulled Anneliese to his side and hurried through the door that the man had pointed at. It was a long dark corridor and the further they went in, the louder the singing became. Anneliese felt velvet rub against her arms. She realized that she was surrounded by black curtains, and up ahead she could see the bright stage lights, indicating the stage. The singing grew louder and louder still, reminding Anneliese of a time her brother had taken her to the beach and there were seagulls squawking in the sky. James stopped, and the two of them gazed through a sliver in the curtains at the beautifully illuminated stage.  
  
 _“So this is what it was like,”_ she thought.   
  
She was encased in a world of black velvet curtains, stage men quickly lowering and lifting elaborate scenes with thick ropes and heavy sandbags. And a few feet in front of her, the stage, bathed in the golden stage light, where dancers twirled and singers lifted their voices to the heavens; it was beautiful picture of rhythmic chaos.  
  
“Those must be the managers,” James whispered, pointing to two men who were dressed in fine suits and were exchanging notes with each other while examining the stage.   
  
“Wait here,” he said, before quickly moving off the sides with the hope to have an audience with the two men.   
  
Anneliese barely heard a word he had said; she was lost in the spectacle before her. While gazing out of the curtains was nothing compared to sitting in a box, or so she assumed since she had never been in one, it was like she was gazing at a piece of the world that only a few could see. Indeed, this view of the stage felt very sacred.   
  
“Hey!” she jumped at the sound of a gruff voice.  
  
A stage man grabbed her by her shoulders and whirled her around to face him.   
  
“What are you doing back here! No one is allowed back here!”   
  
Anneliese was terrified, especially when she smelled the alcohol on the man’s breath. His hands were large and very dirty and the pressure on her shoulders hurt. He then seemed to look at her differently, and a creepy grin spread across his face.  
  
“You best come with me little one…” he slurred.  
  
“N-No thank you…” Anneliese said frightened, wriggling her shoulders out of his grip.   
  
“Come on, Kyle Walton won’t hurt you…” he reached for her again, but Anneliese moved quickly away, causing the stage man to run into a prop, which made him lose his balance, and before he fell completely, he grabbed hold of a piece of scenery and the whole thing came crashing down.  
  
There were several screams from the dancers, but none of them could compare to the cry that the prima donna gave, who nearly knocked over by the piece of scenery.   
  
“Eliana! Eliana, sweetheart!” a rather good-looking man rushed to the shaken singer who was fanning herself to keep her from fainting.   
  
However, the second the good-looking man reached her side, she pushed him away and seemed to be perfectly fine, physically then.  
  
“WHAT IN GOD’S NAME IS THIS?!” the woman screamed, pointing at the now crushed scenery.  
  
Everyone else was at a loss for words, including the two managers who were simply staring at the stage in horror. Anneliese turned a deep shade of red, knowing that she was in full view for everyone to see. Her brother shared the same look of horror as he locked his eyes with her.  
  
“YOU!”   
  
Anneliese jumped as she realized the prima donna was addressing to her.   
  
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”  
  
Being so afraid, Anneliese was speechless.   
  
What could she say?  
  
A simple sorry probably wouldn’t do much good at this point.  
  
“WHO ARE YOU?!” the woman demanded.   
  
Everyone was surprised, especially Anneliese, when the voice that spoke up came from the young man that stood next to the managers.  
  
“A thousand apologies, madam, it was an accident. My sister didn’t mean-“  
  
“YOUR SISTER?!”   
  
Both Anneliese and James regretted the words the second they have left his lips.  
  
“AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” she demanded.   
  
“Madam, please, do not stress your lovely voice-“  
  
“SHUT UP!” Eliana barked at the manager who attempted to calm her down.  
  
“James Romero,” he gave her a deep bow.   
  
“And this is my little sister, Anneliese Romero. We have come with hopes that I may find a place in your orchestra, as I was discussing with these gentlemen. My sister has a deep passion for singing and we were hoping that she may also find a place in the chorus.”  
  
It amazed Anneliese how calm James spoke, despite that this woman was ready to rip someone’s throat out.  
  
“Is that so?” Eliana growled, her voice not loud, but a lot more menacing now.  
  
“Indeed!” one of the managers cried out, quickly stepping in.  
  
He was a tall man, middle aged, with dark skin.  
  
“Mr. Romero may help us since Mr. Alfredo has been missing for quite some time. We are in need of a violinist who can fill the man’s place in.”   
  
“Quite so!” remarked the other manager, who was also tall, slightly older, and had brown hair.  
  
“After all, madam, was it not you who mentioned yesterday that it was impossible for you to find your notes due to the missing violin?”  
  
Eliana’s eyes turned to slits as she glared at the managers.  
  
“I don’t need musical help of any sort, my talents are a gift!” she spat.  
  
“And as for that man and this… this… little… peasant!” she retorted, looking at Anneliese with fury, “I will not perform on this stage, knowing that a little stupid clumsy-“   
  
There was a loud groan and suddenly a figure rose from the heap of black curtains, burping as he stood slowly back on his feet.  
  
“Kyle Walton!” the managers said at the same time.   
  
The stage man turned around to look at everyone on the stage, all of whom were staring at him in surprise.  
  
“W-What?” he hiccupped.  
  
“The man is drunk!” one of the managers cried out.  
  
“And he was the one who caused the accident!” the other shouted.   
  
“Shame on you!” both of them yelled.  
  
Kyle simply looked confused at them.   
  
The good-looking man, who had shown great concern for Eliana earlier, stepped forward and slapped Kyle hard across the face.  
  
“You nearly killed my beloved Eliana!” he accused.   
  
“You drunken lout! Apologize to her this instant and leave this place immediately!”  
  
Eliana rolled her eyes at him.   
  
“Do shut up, Max,” she groaned.   
  
However, the managers couldn’t help but agree with Max Robbins, Broadway’s lead male singer.  
  
“Indeed! You’re fired, Walton!”  
  
Kyle’s only response to them was just another disgusting burp.  
  
“So you see, madam?” James quickly intervened.  
  
“It was all just a mistake; my sister had nothing to do with this accident.”   
  
Eliana hated it to be proven wrong, she hates it even more when she couldn’t have her way.  
  
“If we must have a new violinist, then so be it. But I will _not_ have that girl share the same stage as me!”  
  
“Of course not!” both managers said quickly to appease.   
  
Eliana gave one final glare to the shocked girl, then turned on her heel and exited the stage with Max right behind her.   
  
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.   
  
“Romero?” addressed Tony Stark.  
  
“You must understand that this is a trial period. We don’t hire men right off the streets, normally. There are plenty of people out there who can play the violin for a few coins. But we are desperate right now for someone to fill in Mr. Alfredo’s place.”   
  
“I understand,” he softly whispered.  
  
“If Mr. Alfredo does not return, and if you do well as we expect, you may stay and take his place in the orchestra,” Rhodey Rhodes added.  
  
James gave another bow, “Thank, Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodes. And… my sister?”  
  
“Yes, your sister,” both managers grumbled, looking at Anneliese who was helping some of the stage men and dancers with fixing the fallen set.  
  
“We are in no need of new singers, since our chorus is quite full and the season is already scheduled. But…” Tony glanced at the girl.  
  
“We may find a place for her in the costume department or something.”  
  
“Oh! Thank you, Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodes! Thank you so-“  
  
“Yes, yes,” Tony muttered while waving his hand.   
  
“Seek Madame Romanoff, the dance mistress; she’ll help the two of you get settled in. Come, Rhodey, we must talk. I’m afraid there’s been another note…”  
  
Rhodey rolled his eyes upwards, “Not another one! What are his demands this time?!”  
  
“The usual,” Tony sighed, “and then of course, some new ones as well.”   
  
The two managers walked off the stage, grumbling and complaining the entire walk.   
  
Anneliese walked to her brother’s side, looking hopefully at him, “So? Will they let you play?”  
  
He smiled at her and nodded, but his smile quickly changed, “I’m afraid that I couldn’t get you a place in the chorus. I’m so sorry-“   
  
“Oh, James, please don’t apologize. I don’t need to be in the chorus, it matters more that you can play just like you’ve always dreamed off.”   
  
“But, Anneliese… You have always dreamed of singing on a stage, have you not?”  
  
Anneliese shook her head, although it was a big lie and her brother knew it. Of course she had dreams of singing on the stage, but there were far more important things, such as getting food on the table. And right now, James was there best chances for them.  
  
He sighed and placed his arm around his sister’s shoulder, “Come, we must find this Madame Romanoff, she is helping is to find a place to stay.”   
  
Anneliese nodded and followed James, but before she did, she felt an odd eerie feeling… like she was being watched again. She looked up at the boxes, but saw nothing.   
  
_“My imagination must be running wild again,”_ she mused.   
  
Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if such a place, as old and grand as this is, could be haunted?   
  
Her mother read dark romances and mystery stories to her as a child, causing Anneliese to stay awake at night, afraid of what the darkness could bring, but also making her excited with the turn of a new page. It was foolish, she knew that very well, but this place seemed to resemble exactly like so many of those stories. The thought of ghosts was for exciting, and perhaps even a bit romantic.   
  
James called out her name, and she quickly turned around and rushed after him, but still gazing one last time at the auditorium. New York… they were truly here! And they were in New York’s biggest theatre, Broadway, and she was standing on its stage! She gave a dreamy sigh, imagining what it would be like to perform here. But her sigh turned into one of sadness. That was all it would ever be… a dream.


	3. A God Becoming Curious

“Did I please you, sir?”   
  
He groaned, waking up from his trance by the girl’s voice. Yes, the pleasure was always pleasing, but always brief.  
  
“You pleased me very much, my dear,” he grunted, backing away from her.   
  
The woman pouted a bit, but only for a moment and she quickly dusted herself off.  
  
“Is there anything else I could do for you, sir?”   
  
He didn’t want to look at her. This was the part that he always hated. He was a man with needs, just like any other, and when he needed release from the cravings of the flesh, he knew exactly where to find it. The city was filled with prostitutes who were willing to do much more than what he had asked of this woman. However, he wanted to keep the encounters as brief as possible. After he received what he wanted, he would give the women what they wanted.  
  
“Here,” he muttered, tossing several golden coins to the woman.   
  
The woman’s eyes widened in amazement, “But, sir, this is too much for a mere-“  
  
“My dear,” he whispered, trying to stay and speak as calmly as he could, “you are a woman with great talent. You deserve every penny.”   
  
The woman said nothing, she wasn’t going to argue about money. She quickly tucked the coins into her bodice, but tried to peer past the shadows that covered her customer’s face. She had seen him before; this wasn’t the first time they had encountered each other. He was a mysterious man; only seeking out “company” long after dark, and always refused to go indoors. He preferred dark empty halls and stone hard walls over soft feathery beds. She had seen him with other women as well, sometimes seeking the pleasure she had given him, sometimes seeking even more. But he himself never changed. Always sticking close to the shadows and keeping his face covered with the collar of his cape. She shrugged her shoulders, knowing that it didn’t really matter what he wore or how he acted, so long as she got paid.   
  
“Shall I be seeing you again, sir? Are you really sure that there isn’t anything that I can-“   
  
“Yes,” he growled.   
  
The woman jumped at the sound of his silky voice, not expecting it to have this frightening tone. He quickly began to move away from the woman, holding on to the last piece of his sanity.  
  
“You have been paid. Now go, quickly… And don’t say a word about any of this,” he warned her, before turning around and disappearing into the shadows, his cape billowing behind him.   
  
_“That woman has no idea how lucky she is,”_ he thought disdainfully.  
  
If she had spoken even one more word, his patience would’ve fled entirely and there was no telling what he would’ve done. Indeed, it was good that he had left when he could. He hated it when he fell pray to his basic needs, but he was forever grateful for the magic he possessed that made him shapeshift into someone else, even for just a little while. Magic didn’t exist in Midgard, they relied on technology. Magic wasn’t common anymore in the Nine Realms. Only he and his mother were apparently able to use magic.   
  
Quickly, silently, and elegantly, looking like a ghost, he returned to his sanctuary, where the demons that threatened to consume him could be held at bay by his genius. 

* * *

Anneliese gazed out of the window and stared into the night sky, hoping that the clouds could reveal the glow of the silver moon and allowing its beams to illuminate her small bedroom. She sighed, leaning her head against the hard iron window frame, knowing that it was a lost cause. There was a storm coming, she could feel it in her bones. Years of living in the country had gifted her with these skills. Anneliese sighed again and wrapped her blanket around her body, shivering, though not from the cold air.   
  
She had woken up only a few minutes ago from a strange dream that had caused her body to shake violently. She was confused; her surroundings were strange and after a moment’s pause, she remembered that both she and her brother were staying at a cheap flat that was only a few streets away from Broadway. Indeed, she could see the lights shine even from this distant. And once again, she had a strange feeling that the building was looking back at her, through her even…  
  
“Oh, Mama, Papa,” she whispered, feeling like she was a child again, wishing for one of their voices to calm her and tell her everything would be alright.   
  
Despite the stories that Anneliese had begged her mother to tell, there were truly no such things as monsters or ghosts. Anneliese cursed herself for thinking earlier that the idea of ghosts was romantic. She was lost in the beauty of Broadway; now after having this strange dream, she felt ghosts could be anything but real.   
  
“Maybe it wasn’t a ghost,” she whispered to herself.   
  
“Maybe it really was a man…” she shook her head, feeling so foolish for analysing that meant nothing to her.  
  
It was just nightmare, pure and simple. And now that she was awake, the dream was gone. She was safe, and both things for her and James was going to be alright. He was going to play the violin in the orchestra, and she was… going to work as Eliana’s costume girl. The very thought of it turned Anneliese’s stomach.  
  
She recalled how James would not stop apologizing to her the whole afternoon while they moved into their new home.  
  
“I can always tell them that I won’t play if you’re not given a place in the chorus-“   
  
She stopped him immediately and scolded him for daring to even think such a thing.   
  
She reasoned with James, explaining to him that she is still young, she had plenty of opportunities ahead in her life to become a singer, and she could always audition for next season. And they couldn’t afford to play such a nasty game with the managers to simply make her dreams come true. This was the only chance of their survival.   
  
Anneliese cursed the family of her mother, hating them from buying the farm right out from them and throwing her and James off their own land. It was done as a punishment for their father “stealing” their precious daughter, a woman with whom they had not contacted ever since the day she ran away to be with Anneliese and James’ father.   
  
They had no where else to go other than New York. And if James had been refused, then their only option would’ve been the streets.   
  
_“But things are going to be alright,”_ she reminded herself.   
  
While his position was only temporally for now, she was sure that once James played for the orchestra, they would find something permanent for him. He was a great musician, and he and her father were the once who inspired her love for music. That evening, before they had gone to sleep, he had played a few tunes on his violin while she sang along with the music. It was just like back on their old farm. Anneliese sighed again and quickly wiped the tear that was falling down her cheek. While the splendour of the city was truly beautiful, she missed her old home.   
  
She looked at the theatre one last time before shutting the window and returning to bed. She would dream of singing, instead of ghosts and monsters. She’ll work hard to win Eliana’s favour and audition for the company next season.  
  
Yes, that was what she would concentrate on. She smiled at her determined thoughts, and closed her eyes, waiting for her dreams of singing at Broadway to fill her head.   
  
But it was a different kind of music that invaded her senses, a passionate melody that haunted her very being. Somewhere in the night, across the darkness, there was music; a sad, sweet song that squeezed her heart. And when she finally dreamed, it was that song she sang. 

* * *

Today had been very long for Madame Natasha Romanoff, the stern dance mistress that all stage men feared. No one dared to cross paths with her, not even Eliana. Everyone believed that Madame Natasha’s icy demeanour came from an old knee injury that prevented her from ever dancing again, or the fact that her own daughter was a rising star, and she was being overprotective.  
  
 _“If only they knew the whole truth,”_ she thought to herself.

Yes, it had been a very long day indeed; after an energetic rehearsal she was left to find a place for the new violinist and his little sister to live. She didn’t say much to either of them, yet observed the two of them closely, judging if they could be trusted. Satisfied that they could be trusted, she thought that despite the late hour, now was a good time to tell him of today’s events.   
  
There were many secret passageways that led to his lair; she only knew half of them. She also knew where to avoid the traps he had set for intruders. Dressed in her traditional black dress, she walked with an air of dignity through the tunnels to where the light was burning brightly in the distance, as well as the rising cords of organ music.  
  
As she walked closer to it, there was movement off to the side. Any other person would have ran away screaming, but she continued on, nodding her heads to the figures that watched from the shadows. Finally, she came upon a clearing in the cavern, where hundreds of candles lit the room, illuminating the space in an golden glow. In one of the corners sat a caped figure, hard working at a piece of music.  
  
“I do not recall inviting you here, madam,” spoke a cold British voice.  
  
“I was not aware I needed an invitation, sir,” she replied in the same cold tone.  
  
The figure chuckled, “It would never matter, to you at least; you come as you please, just like me.”  
  
Madame Natasha felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards, “We are alike than you think, Loki.”   
  
He twitched at her words and continued going over the score that laid in front of him. She stood silently next to him, while he played several cords on the organ, before stopping and examining the music again.   
  
“A new play?”   
  
He smiled, “I’m already working hard on planning the next season.”   
  
He picked up a pen and made a few changes on the music sheet.  
  
“So what brings you here, besides this dazzling conversation?” he asked, his voice full of sarcasm.  
  
Madame Natasha was someone who didn’t like to talk long, so she spoke quickly, “The managers have hired a new violinist.”  
  
Loki dropped his pen and his muscles went rigid, “Today?”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
He slowly turned to the dance mistress, his eyes full of fire.   
  
“When did this take place?” he asked, his voice fighting hard to remain its calmness.   
  
Madame Natasha knew he did not like when somebody would focus on the right side of his face. She glanced briefly to see if he was masked or not. She was happy to see that it was.  
  
“Just this afternoon, around three o’clock. I did want to tell you shortly after dusk, but… I learned you were very… busy.”   
  
Loki ignored the disgust in her voice and walked past here to the table where parchment was laying on.   
  
She sighed and continued speaking, “Are you truly surprised? They are in desperate need of a new violinist since… the rather surprising ‘disappearance’ of Mr. Alfredo…”   
  
She watched at him for any reactions, but she received none.   
  
“Loki, what did you do to that man? Was his playing that offending to you?”   
  
He ignored her questions, showing no emotions to any of her words.   
  
“Who is this man? This new violinist?” he demanded, not looking at her.   
  
_“Typical,”_ she thought.  
  
“His name is James Romero.”   
  
“Means nothing to me,” Loki replied coldly, walking past her again towards his organ.   
  
He sat down and began writing furiously the notes on the new parchment, “Can he play?”   
  
Madame Natasha sighed, “I haven’t heard him yet, but I do believe that he’ll do great in the orchestra.”  
  
Loki scoffed at her words, “Amazing how a person, who has not even played, is regarded as a musical genius.”   
  
He was extremely displeased. He knew that the managers were idiots, but he never thought they would go so far as hiring a random person off the streets who held a violin in his hands.   
  
Madame Natasha knew he was very upset. Loki didn’t like change, and quite frankly, he had been in a bad mood for the last two years ever since Tony Stark and Rhodey Rhodes became the managers of Broadway. Unlike the one before them, the two of them didn’t follow Loki’s instructions very well, not to mention their love for money was way bigger than their love for music and art. That was also why Eliana was their star.   
  
“And those fools actually believe they run this theatre,” he growled underneath his breath.   
  
“Please be kind, Loki. They have no where else to go,” Madame Natasha pleaded.  
  
Loki’s head popped up from his writing, “They?”   
  
She sighed, “Yes, Mr. Romero and his little sister.”   
  
Loki rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, before arranging the music and trying the new notes on the organ.   
  
“I hate children; I will not allow a child to run around my theatre!”   
  
“Miss Anneliese Romero is a woman, Loki.”   
  
He stopped his playing for a moment, “Oh?”  
  
“Yes… a young woman still, if you ask me. She just turned 21.”   
  
“Ah, I see,” he whispered, before resuming his playing.  
  
“A spinster then.”   
  
Madame Natasha rolled her eyes, “Hardly. She’s only a year older than my daughter, and she had hopes of joining our chorus-“  
  
“Don’t tell me the hired her too?” Loki groaned, turning around and looking at the dance mistress.

“We don’t need more singers! We have the right amount of pitch and quality; I thought that was perfectly clear to those fools!”  
  
Loki stood up quickly, knocking over the stool that he was sitting on. He began pace furiously, his breathing becoming harsh and uneven.  
  
“The only singer that I would welcome is someone to replace that harpy they have squeaking day after day! That, madam, is why I must flee this place every now and then… if I don’t, I’ll become madder than I already am…” he sighed and slowed his pacing.  
  
If he could, he would kill Eliana this very night, and would have no regrets whatsoever. It was this woman’s pleas that kept him from doing it. It was also a fact that Eliana, being this “great” star, would no doubt cause a riot of some sort. But one day, if things go too far, he would throw caution into the wind and do what had longed wished to do ever since she set her foot in his Theatre and opened her mouth.  
  
Madame Natasha could clearly see the rage that was written across Loki’s face, even his masked side, so she quickly continued, hoping it would calm him down.   
  
“Miss Anneliese was not hired for the chorus… she is to work as Eliana’s costume girl.”  
  
Loki relaxed a little bit, but a new rage spread quickly through his veins.   
  
“These fools will hire anyone, won’t they?!”

He started to pace again, “A costume girl is even worse! Gives her more of an excuse to snoop around! She could trespass easily, and then I would be forced to take matters into my own hands, and you know very well as I, madam, that I can’t stand trespassers.”   
  
His voice was in a cold and dark tone. It sends shivers down Madame Natasha’s spine, for she had seen what Loki did with trespassers.   
  
“I’ve warned them both about going below the stage or taking unknown corridors.”  
  
“Do better,” he hissed, before stomping back to his organ and fixing the stool so that he could continue with his playing.   
  
Loki was a person who would treat music like it was fragile glass… yet in this very moment he was banging on the organ’s keys with blind fury.  
  
Madame Natasha took a deep breath, knowing there was only one way to calm down the man’s anger, “Eliana accused the young woman for trying to murder her…”   
  
Loki stopped, suddenly, once again with his playing, his head and ears perking up at the words.  
  
“Really? Go on…”   
  
Madame Natasha gave a small smirk, “Eliana was rehearsing and Miss Anneliese was watching from behind the curtains. Apparently, a stage man had tried to grab Miss Anneliese, who stepped out of the way, causing him to crash into a scenery which nearly crushed our ‘beloved star’.”  
  
Loki didn’t laugh much anymore, but he couldn’t help but grin at this story.   
  
“Tis as pity the scenery did not succeed,” his playing became much more gentler and softer.  
  
“And Eliana accused the girl?”   
  
“Yes,” Madame Natasha replied.  
  
“But it wasn't her fault, though. It was Kyle Walton who caused the accident…” she paused before continuing.  
  
“You should know that he was fired because of that.”  
  
Loki only momentarily paused his playing.   
  
“That shouldn’t bother you,” he whispered.   
  
“I do recall hearing you curse out his name many times for leering at your precious dancers.”   
  
“True,” Madame Natasha said.  
  
“After all, the man was a drunkard, as well as a lout. But I know that in some strange way he did do you some good.”  
  
Loki nodded his head, “Kyle Walton told more dark stories about me than of my notes could have ever done. Thanks to him, no stage men or dancers dare to below far down the stage.”   
  
He turned the music sheet and continued his playing. The music was much calmer and sweeter now.   
  
“Still, it’s a small loss… the time would’ve eventually come when I couldn’t stand him and kill the man myself.”   
  
“Loki-“   
  
“My dear friend, when are you going to get a sense of humour?”   
  
She stared at him alertly, “Perhaps when your jokes are actually funny.”   
  
He couldn’t help but grin at her answer, “Touché, madam, touché.”   
  
She sighed and turned around, but paused momentarily, “You won’t harm them, will you?”  
  
Loki did not miss a beat of his playing, “If you are referring to Mr. James Romero and his little sister, then no… so long as he plays well, and she stays in her place, and they both follow my rules.”   
  
Satisfied by his answer, Madame Natasha turned around to leave. Just like their greeting, there were no formalities when they parted. She climbed up the stairs and took the passageways that led her out of Loki’s hell to the human world. The entire way, his music followed her with each step.   
  
Loki continued with his playing, however, his mind was wandering back to the news that he had heard earlier. He didn’t know why, but he was really curious about the Theatre’s new employees. He would have to pay a visit Mr. Romero and his charming sister. He started to wonder about her, wondering what she was like, how she looked, and if she had a love for music.   
  
Could she sing?   
  
Madame Natasha had said that she had hoped to join the chorus. He brushed the thought away, knowing that many people had auditioned for many years to sing in his Theatre, and only a few had talent.  
  
This girl was probably no different then the rest of them… and yet, why did this mysterious girl intrigue him?   
  
The tensions that had driven him out earlier that day were beginning to rise back to the surface again. No amount of music could soothe his need now. He cursed at his weakness and adjusted his cloak so he could hide his masked face behind it. Damn him, and damn this girl for causing the weakness. Yes, he would find out more about her, and maybe, just maybe, she could be the solution that would satisfy his primal urges that possessed his soul and kept him as a monster… instead of a man.


	4. The Mask of An Handsome Man

An elegant carriage stopped in front of Broadway, causing several people on the streets to stop and whisper to each other. The driver quickly jumped off his seat and opened the door for the carriage’s occupant. Several women, who were walking, stopped and stared at the figure that rose out from the carriage; the ones who were holding fans began to immediately, rapidly fan themselves.   
  
He was a tall man, slim but slightly muscular, since that was the fashion in this time. He was elegantly dressed in a red suit with a high collar, his black boots polished and shining, his golden tie was tucked in a black ruffled tunic. His golden blonde hair was neatly combed.  
  
He stepped down the carriage steps, muttering something to his coachman while he dusted himself off. His eyes stared at the theatre and he smiled; his was clean shaven, his posture perfectly straight, his teeth pearl white, and his eyes were bright blue. And when he started to walk up the theatre’s steps, there seemed to be this air of power that followed him with each step. He was like the sun, dazzling at first look, and forever burning its image in your mind’s eye after he disappeared from view.  
  
Inside the theatre, things were being prepared for the play that would kick off the season in just a few days. Dancers were working hard to perfect their steps, while the stage men were working on the sets and the orchestra tuned their instruments. James was turning out to be the toast of the orchestra. In just a matter of hours, he was close to perfecting the score for the upcoming play; the managers were very pleased with their decision.  
  
Sadly, Anneliese herself was not having the same good fortune as her brother. When Eliana discovered that Anneliese was her new costume girl, she had a fit that could rival the most spoiled children. She screamed, stomping her feet, cursing in French, and then stomped off and locked herself up in her dressing room, while the managers stood outside the door and pleaded for her to come out.  
  
Anneliese rolled her eyes as she thought about the incident, thinking that despite Eliana Jones’ gorgeous dresses and the years of stage experience, a dog could both sing and act better.   
  
While the managers pleaded, Anneliese busied herself with her tasks, mending the costumes that had snares in them, and ironing the ones that had wrinkles. She carefully laid them out, examining them closely to see if she had missed any other repair work, all the while feeling that someone… or something, was watching her.   
  
Ever since she and James had arrived this morning, Anneliese had the suspicion that she was being watched.   
  
Whom?   
  
She had no idea, for every time that she turned her head to look, she saw no one. The feeling was very strange; most of the time she felt chilled and uneasy, but she also felt admired and… she blushed when she recalled the other feeling was, aroused. She shook her head to the whole thing, believing that once again, it was her imagination running wild. And any other thoughts were on the matter were quickly disposed when Eliana returned, dabbing her nose and eyes with a handkerchief that Tony had given her. Rhodey, Tony, and Max followed behind her, each filling her ears with praises to her. The whole thing made Anneliese sick.   
  
Eliana waved her hand, which stopped the three men from making further idiots of themselves, for now, and she turned to Anneliese.   
  
“I have decided I will allow you to continue being my costume girl,” she said in a fake, sweet voice, and a fake smile was plastered on her lips.  
  
Anneliese stared at the girl.   
  
Eliana’s sweet smile started to fade. She shifted side to side and was tapping with her foot, like she was waiting for Anneliese to fall on her knees and thank God for granting her this fine honour.  
  
Was the woman that vain?  
  
“Well?!”   
  
Anneliese jumped at the sudden bark that escaped the prima donna’s throat. Eliana quickly smoothed back a silky brown curl that had escaped from her shouting.   
  
She smiled again at Anneliese and used her sweet voice again, “Have you nothing to say, my dear?”  
  
Anneliese wanted so badly to tell the girl what she really thought. She wanted to tell Eliana that she has no talent, that while she strutted around the theatre and stage like a peacock, she sounds like a crow. She wanted to tell the girl that her behaviour was disgusting and that there were more important things in the world than how someone looks or what kind of fabric a dress was made out of. She wanted to scream, perhaps even strike the girl… but she remembered her brother and how badly they need this. So she swallowed her pride and lifted her chin up.  
  
“I have repaired the silk ballgown that you were planning on wearing for the opening gala.”   
  
Eliana stared at the girl almost open mouthed. Anneliese showed no emotion, but inside she was laughing at the surprised expression from the so-called star.   
  
Not the answer Eliana was expecting, let alone look for, but it wasn’t one she could scream at.  
  
“What a clever little thing you are,” she said through clenched teeth, mustering all the sweetness in her voice that she could create.   
  
Fake sweetness was probably worst acting that Eliana could do.   
  
Anneliese smiled, placing the gown gently on the table, while the managers and Max exchanged worried looks to each other, knowing that the young woman was playing with fire.   
  
“Well!” Rhodey interrupted.  
  
“I must say, keep up the good work, miss. You’ll do fine in the theatre’s business! I’m sure!”   
  
Eliana gave Anneliese an cold smile, “Yes, my dear. Please show me what else you have accomplished. I can see that living in the country has perfected your skills in… humble servant crafts.”   
  
Anneliese flinched at the stinging words, but she refused to show Eliana any sign of effect, “Very well… there is one gown that I have pinned together, since it was literally falling into pieces…”   
  
She turned away to retrieve the dress, while Eliana grabbed the hot iron that Anneliese had used earlier and placed it, with the hot side up, near Anneliese’s arm. The second the girl turned back, she yelped out of pain as her skin made contact with the iron, causing her to drop the dress out of her hands, which caused the pins and pieces of the dress to fly everywhere, and knocking the iron accidently over with her elbow and it landed on a beautiful silk ballgown.   
  
“AH! YOU CLUMSY FOOL! LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO MY COSTUME!”   
  
The managers turned quickly back to Eliana’s shouts, and Max was by her side in a second, “My darling! What happened?! What did that wretched girl do?!”   
  
Anneliese was still trying to rub the pain from her arm before she realized what had happened. She gasped and lifted the iron from the gown, but the damage was already done. A large brown stain and several small holes remained on the dress, thanks to the iron. Anneliese lifted her shocked eyes to Eliana’s face, becoming surprised but mostly enraged when she saw the smirk on the girl’s lips.  
  
“This… this idiot has ruined two of my costumes!” she shouted to both Max and the managers, who were rushing to her side.  
  
“Not only has she ruined the gown that I must wear for Faust, by sticking disgusting pieces of fabric on it, but she also burned holes into the silk that I must wear for Hannibal!”   
  
Tony and Rhodey stared at the speechless Anneliese, not sure what to say, but knowing if they didn’t say something quickly, Eliana would explode.   
  
“Don’t just stand there, fire this wretched woman!” Max shouted in defence of Eliana.   
  
He attempted to wrap his arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off quickly.  
  
“F-Fire her?” Rhodey asked shocked, glancing at Tony with worried eyes.  
  
It was only five days until the opening night of the theatre’s season, they need James Romero to play in the orchestra now more than ever. If they fired his sister they knew that they would lose him as well.   
  
But they couldn’t displease Eliana either!   
  
They were in very tight spot now.   
  
“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement, madam-“   
  
“Arrangement?!” Eliana exclaimed.   
  
“There will not be an arrangement! This stupid little-“   
  
A smooth male cough interrupted Eliana’s shrieks, “Um… beg your pardon, but is this a bad time?”   
  
The managers and Eliana turned their heads and exclaimed at the same time, “SIR!”   
  
Anneliese, whose cheeks were burning red from Eliana’s cruel words and foul tricks, stared at the man with whom the others were entranced by. He was very handsome; tall, gold blonde, a crimson red coat, and obviously wealthy by the clothes that he wore.  
  
He looked right passed the admiring managers who were crowded around them and stared into her eyes. She felt her knees grow and she reached out to clutch the table by her side.  
  
“Good day,” he said with an elegant bow.  
  
Anneliese swallowed and curtsied at the man. He smiled at her and she felt that strange feeling in her knees again.   
  
“Well, who is this pretty young lady?” he asked the managers who were still praising him.   
  
“Who? Oh! Just a new costume girl. Sir, we are so pleased that you came to see us today. As you can see, we are very busy with preparing the opening gala-“   
  
“Yes, yes, it is all looking wonderful, Rhodes,” the man said with a wave of his hand, his smile still remaining on Anneliese.   
  
“And what is your name, my lady?”   
  
Anneliese stared at the man for a long time, trying to find her voice, but Eliana spoke for her instead.   
  
“What does it matter?! The girl is incompetent with costumes, and I’m sure she is that with everything!” she thrusted her burned dress into the man’s face.  
  
“See what I have to put up with, sir,” she pouted.   
  
The man gave a weak smile to the prima donna before turning to the managers for an answer.  
  
“Oh! Um…” Tony looked at Anneliese, trying to remember her name.  
  
“Anne… Anneliese, I think.”   
  
Anneliese frowned and lifted her chin up, looking directly into the man’s eyes, “My name is-“  
  
“Silence!” Eliana barked, throwing the burnt gown in Anneliese’s face.  
  
She then turned around and smiled sweetly at the gentlemen, “My dear friend, had I know that you would come to visit I would’ve more elegantly for you.”  
  
The man gave her a warm smile at Eliana while she batted her eyes, causing Max to stand fidgety of jealousy.  
  
Anneliese glanced back and forth between the handsome man and the crow that had injured her. The two of them acted like they knew each other… very well actually.   
  
“Sir, um… we have some matters of business to discuss. There have been some notes-“   
  
“All in good time, Stark,” the man answered without taking his eyes off of Eliana.   
  
“First, I have some matters of business to go over with Madame Eliana Jones. She has written me about the displeasure she has here with the way things are run here…” he glanced at the managers, his smiled disappearing and being replaced with a serious frown.  
  
“D-Displeasure?!” both men stuttered, looking at each other and Eliana in horror.  
  
“Yes,” Eliana snapped, linking her arm into the handsome man’s one.   
  
“Much displeasure and hiring that girl is now on top of my list!” she began to lead the man away from the managers who were so flabbergasted that they couldn’t utter a single word.   
  
“Come, sir,” she said with a twirl of her skirt.   
  
“Let's go to my dressing room to talk things over.”  
  
The man turned his head back to Anneliese and gave her one last smile before he was literally dragged away by the narcissistic star.  
  
Anneliese’s face continued to burn as she watched the two of them walked, her emotions confused. Yes, the man was indeed very handsome, and his smile was warm and inviting, while his words and his manners were very charming. But there something that was not right with him; it was probably the company he seemed to prefer.  
  
The managers dashed away, both pale and stuttering to each other about what must be done to please Eliana. Max immediately followed Eliana, trying to catch up with her and the mysterious man.   
  
Anneliese sighed, looking at the burned costume in her hands, wishing that it had burned with Eliana inside of it instead. She bent down to retrieve the dress that had fallen apart on the ground when a sweet voice caught her attention.  
  
“I can’t believe it… he actually spoke to you!”   
  
Anneliese looked up, seeing that the voice belonged to a slightly tall dancer with long red hair and blue eyes. It was Isabella Romanoff, the lead dancer and daughter of the dance mistress.   
  
“Do you know who that was?” she asked Anneliese, her voice filled with excitement.   
  
Anneliese shook her head, confused by Isabella’s behaviour.  
  
“Isabella! Was it him?! Is he back?!”   
  
Isabella nodded and grinned to several other dancers who were standing in the back. The group bursts into squeals and happy shrieks. Anneliese needed some answers.   
  
“Who is he?” she asked, really curious.   
  
The girls looked at each other, rolling their eyes, and exploding back into giggles.   
  
Isabella kept her composure, at least enough to explain, “He’s Julian Dawson!”   
  
Anneliese’s emotionless face forced the girl to continue on, “The highest paying patron of Broadway.”   
  
Now it fitted all together. That was why the managers were falling over themselves and why they panicked at the mention of Eliana’s displeasure.   
  
Anneliese stared back at the direction Julian had disappeared to, feeling foolish for even thinking for a moment that he admired her, and that she thought that he was kind and charming. She may have lived in the country for most of her life, but Anneliese was not a fool; a man with wealth and a status only looked at a girl in her situation for one thing.  
  
“Girls!” the dancers stopped giggling and quickly rushed back to spot where should’ve been practising.   
  
Madame Natasha emerged from the curtains and crossly at all of them.   
  
“Isabella!” she barked at embarrassed girl.  
  
“What is the meaning of this?!”  
  
Isabella fidgeted with her fingers and bit her lip, “Sorry, Mama. It was just…”  
  
Madame Natasha lifted a brown eyebrow, waiting for her daughter’s answer.  
  
“It was just… well… we saw Julian, and-“   
  
Madame Natasha’s face became pale at the mention of his name, “Dawson is here?”   
  
Isabella nodded, her face quickly turned from embarrassment into one of worry, “Mama, are you alright?”   
  
Madame Natasha shook her head quickly to compose herself and lifted her chin, her face returning to its cold expression.   
  
“Don’t let me catch you or any of the other girls wandering around when you should be practising,” she ordered through tight lips.  
  
Isabella nodded her head, still looking concerned at her mother, but quickly rushed off in the directions the other dancers had gone.  
  
Anneliese stared at the dance mistress whose face had returned to one of worry. She fidgeted slightly, biting her lip, and glancing wildly around her.  
  
“Madame? Are… are you alright?” Anneliese placed one hand gently on the woman’s arm.  
  
“Is there anything that I could do for you? Get you a glass of water, perhaps?”   
  
Madame Natasha finally noticed Anneliese, but her expression did not change.   
  
“Where did he go?” was the only thing she asked.  
  
What was going on?   
  
“He left with Madame Eliana Jones… they are discussing ‘business matters’ in her dressing room.”   
  
Madame Natasha lifted her eyebrow at Anneliese’s answer.  
  
“Well… he’ll be occupied for some time,” she muttered under her breath.  
  
“I beg your pardon?”   
  
Madame Natasha looked at Anneliese and gave her a gentle smile. Despite of what the stage men had muttered about the woman, Anneliese knew that the dance mistress truly had a heart of gold under the cold exterior she showed.   
  
“Thank you, my dear, but no. I’m truly fine.”   
  
Without another word she turned and quickly walked away, leaving a confused Anneliese behind. 

* * *

“Eliana, I must implore that I stay-“   
  
Eliana groaned and gave Max one of her most cruel looks, “Go away! I have many important matters to discuss with Mr. Dawson, and I do not need you here breathing down my bodice!”   
  
Julian couldn’t help but chuckle at the prima donna’s choice of words. He stood just outside Eliana’s dressing room with Max blocking the entrance. The man was loyal, no one could deny that. It amazed Julian that despite it was clear that Eliana had great displeasure for the man, he still remained willingly her lap dog.   
  
Max continued to glance back and forth between Eliana and Julian with unease. He didn’t like it when this man would come for visits. He didn’t care that the man was extremely rich, or that he was the reason that both he and Eliana got jobs in Broadway. He saw the way how his beloved Eliana looked at the man, and vice versa.   
  
Eliana sighed and realized that this time she had to use different kind of battle moves.   
  
“Max,” she said in a sweet, but also manipulative tone.  
  
“Why do you worry so much? Do you think that my dignity will be in danger if I allow Mr. Dawson in my dressing room?”  
  
Max bit his lip and shifted with his feet back and forth, glancing at the young man with distrust.   
  
Eliana smiled and caressed man’s face, “I admire your chivalry. You truly are my knight in shining armour.”   
  
Her voice was filled with fake sweetness, but Max was enchanted by it.  
  
He was starting to crack.  
  
“I assure you that I’ll be safe… and I will cry out if I am in need… but I’ll be perfectly fine. And knowing that you are nearby make my heart warm and fills me with such…” she leaned close to him and planted a soft, quick kiss on the man’s lips, “passion.”  
  
She had won this time. Max, who was now completely melted, walked away from the dressing room, while smiling sheepishly at his lovely lady. She gave him a smile back and even winked at him, while disappearing into her dressing room, Julian smirking behind her.   
  
The second they entered the dressing room, she slammed the door shut, locked it, and began to spit.   
  
“Eh! His scent is all over me! Now I’ll have to burn this dress!”   
  
Julian continued to smirk, “He’s quite attached to you, at least more than I have ever seen… and quite suspicious.”   
  
Eliana rolled her eyes and groaned, “Don’t even remind me! And to think… I have to kiss him in upcoming play that we are performing.”  
  
She squealed when she felt a pair of strong hands grab her shoulders and whirled her around. She was pressed against Julian’s body, and she fell limp the second his strong frame mould against her own.  
  
“How will I be able to control myself? Seeing you on stage with him…” one of his hands went up to her hair and began to pull all the hair pins out, causing her dark curls to fall over her shoulder.   
  
“In his arms…” his hands moved to her skirts and he began to pull them up to her hips.  
  
“Kissing him…” his lips captured hers quickly and she melted even more, returning the passionate kiss and clawing at his coat.  
  
Julian pulled back immediately.  
  
“Careful!” he hissed, removing her hands and quickly looking at his coat, checking if there was any damage.   
  
“This is quite expensive, you know.”   
  
Eliana pouted and folded her arms across her chest, while Julian carefully removed his coat from his body, “I don’t seem to recall that you have ever been careful with my expensive gowns!”   
  
Julian grinned, placing on purpose his coat on top of a large cream box that was laying on her dressing table. Eliana’s eyes followed his movements, and then she looked at him for confirmation. When he gave her a nod, she squealed happily and grabbed the box like a child did when it received a Christmas present. He had to remove his coat carefully again.   
  
“OH! Sir, it is beautiful…” she whispered, pulling an elegant gown from the box.   
  
It was white, embroidered with patterns. It had shoulder-length sleeves and the dress was sewed with jewels. Most people would find such a gown too much, however, Julian had learned that this was Eliana’s kind of taste in fashion.  
  
“Now you can really burn that gown,” he chuckled, coming closer to place kisses on the back of Eliana’s neck while his expert hands started to undo the buttons of the dress she was currently wearing.  
  
Eliana whimpered at his touch and leaned back against him, “It has been far too long, sir, since our last meeting… I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about me…”   
  
“You?” he said mocking horror.   
  
“Never…” while one hand was unbuttoning the dress, the other climbed higher and began to sink beneath her bodice.  
  
She moaned when his lips tickled her ear as he slowly nibbled on the lobe slightly.  
  
“Now… I have a favour to ask of you…”  
  
“Mmmm… a-anything…” she whimpered, leaning back and purposely pushing herself against him.  
  
He groaned at the movement, but the years of experience had taught him how to control himself.  
  
“Good girl…” he hissed, biting her neck softly, while his other hand lifted up her skirt.  
  
“I want you to tell me…” her skirt was now up her thighs.  
  
“Everything you can…” he pushed her stockings and garters down.  
  
“About that beautiful little costume girl…”   
  
Eliana’s eyes flew open and she pushed Julian away from her body, “WHAT?!”  
  
Julian sighed and closed his to prepare himself for the amount of shrieks that would come.  
  
“WHY THE HELL DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER?! SHE’S A NOBODY, SHE’S UGLY, SHE’S-“  
  
“Be quiet!” Julian snapped.   
  
“Do you want all of New York to hear you?”   
  
The fire in Eliana’s was only growing more and more, “OH FUCK NEW YORK! I DON’T CARE IF ALL OF AMERICA HEARS ME! ANSWER ME, WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?!”   
  
Julian stared back at Eliana, eager to grab her pretty neck and snap it in two. However, he knew the best way in these kind of situations was to not lose his temper. Besides, he knew he could play the same that Eliana had done to Max only a few minutes ago.  
  
“My dear, I am only interest about what is going on in my theatre,” he hummed, giving her his most charming smile while slowly walking towards her.  
  
He hoped that the passion in his eyes would weaken her…  
  
However, Julian realized it would more than just coaxing, since Eliana would have none of it.  
  
“I’m not a fool, Julian!” she snapped, using his first name.   
  
“You think that I don’t know about your infamous reputation?! You think that I don’t know about the chorus girls and dancers that you’ve bedded?! You think I don’t know that the main reason of you doing business with the theatre is so you can be of a pretty young face, with a mouth wide open and willing-“  
  
“That was _before_ I met you!” Julian lied, taking two quick strides to reach her.  
  
“I won’t deny my past, but the moment that I saw you on the stage and heard your voice, you were the only woman I could think about. Dream about…” his hand sneaked down to the hem of her skirt and lifting it up again.  
  
“And want to fuck till the sun rises…”   
  
Eliana melted slightly at his words, especially when she felt his hand move under her skirt and softly brush against his thigh. But still, she tried to show some self-control.   
  
“W-Why do you care about w-who she is…” she whimpered, her lips becoming dry as she felt his hands inch closer and closer.  
  
Julian grinned, he knew that he was going to win this battle, “My dear, didn’t you say that the girl was incompetent?”  
  
His lips brushed against her own as his hands were inching higher.  
  
Eliana moaned and melted even more, licking her lips and trembling under his touch, “T-That’s true…”   
  
“Yes, it is… and you’re not happy…” Eliana was gripping the dressing table and pressing her body against his.  
  
“I only want to make you happy, Eliana… I only want to give you pleasure…”   
  
He could see from the expression on her face that it wouldn’t be long before she would tell him everything he wants to know, so long as she gets what she wants.   
  
“Her name, Eliana…” he whispered in her ear, “tell me her name…”   
  
She couldn’t take it anymore.  
  
“A-Anne-l-liese… oooh, Anneliese!” she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately, while he lifted her up with one arm, while the other one cleared the dressing table before he placed her on top of it.  
  
“Thank you, my dear. You will not regret this!”  
  
 _“Nor will I,”_ he mused to himself.   
  
Already, he was imagining the pretty costume girl as the one before him. But as he had learned, from the time that his father had brought him to a prostitute house at the age of 14 to “make him a man”, any woman could be bought easily by the right price. Sometimes it was money, sometimes it was jewels or other expensive gifts, sometimes it would be words of affection and love; but every woman has a price, and it only took Julian only a little while to learn what it was, before he could lure a woman in his bed.   
  
Eliana most certainly suited his purpose; he knew she was once a star in France, and with the right publicity, he could make her a star in the United States and get more money into his pocket. And if that meant that he has to come and listen to her list of complaints before they could get into “normal business”, what he called, then so be it. Whatever he had to do to get what he wanted.   
  
He smiled at his reflection in the mirror. He kept on looking to himself, thinking about all the wealth he was getting from Eliana’s so-called talent, and thinking about his next affair: bedding the costume girl.  
  
She looked young, full of virtue; he loved to break virgins.   
  
_“She’ll be an eager student,”_ he thought with a grin.   
  
Yes, he would seduce her to his bed, and gain a lot pleasure for himself. Eliana was business, but the costume girl would be his pleasure. And he loved mixing the two together.   
  
He thought of all those things while he smiled at his own reflection. 

* * *

Madame Natasha hurried down the stone steps that led to Loki’s lair, her face completely pale and covered with worry lines. She carefully avoided the passages that held booby traps, all the while keep running as fast as she could.  
  
In the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure.  
  
“Where is he?” she called out to it.   
  
The figure gave a groaning sound before pointing to the right. She nodded her head as a thanks and took the passage the figure had pointed to. The sound of music filled the cavern before her, and she knew that he wouldn’t be happy to be interrupted while he is working.  
  
“Loki! Loki!” she called out, while she rushed into the candlelit cavern.  
  
The organ music stopped and the caped figure stood up, his shoulders slumping for a second before his back standing perfectly straight again.  
  
“I’m very busy, what is it?”   
  
She stopped a few feet away from him, panting and clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath and regain her composure, “H-He’s… h-here…”   
  
Loki turned around, his face was masked and his visible eyebrow arched guessingly.  
  
“Dawson?” he simply asked.  
  
Madame Natasha looked at him with surprise.  
  
“Y-You know?” she asked, her breathing starting to return to its normal slow pace.  
  
Loki waved his hand uncaringly.  
  
“It’s my theatre, is it not?” he said, before muttering under his breath, “despite what that son of a bitch thinks.”  
  
He sat back at the organ and started to play again, “Besides, it’s rather hard to ignore that harpy’s shrieks.”   
  
Madame Natasha was surprised at how calm Loki was. Normally, he would fly into rage when learned that Julian Dawson was in Broadway. Loki despised Julian, and she couldn’t blame him either. The man wore a mask of a prince charming, but in truth he was much more of an monster than Loki will ever be.  
  
True, Loki had committed acts of terror and murder, but Julian… his crimes were much more heinous to the dance mistress, especially since she knew that he was the one responsible for impregnating three of her dancers in the last five years. One woman died when she sought out unprepared abortion, while the other two were thrown out into the street with no place to go and with no money. Madame Natasha did not know what happened to them, and she cursed Julian for ruining three innocent lives.   
  
She also knew the reasons why Loki despised Julian… so was he acting like he didn’t care?  
  
“You… you don’t care then?” she asked carefully, not daring to face him, but also unsure what else she could say or do.  
  
The God ceased his playing for a moment and sighed deeply.  
  
“Oh, I care very much indeed,” he growled lowly, before his hands banged against the keys of the organ, causing the walls of the cavern to shake.  
  
Loki’s reasons for despising Julian were somewhat different. Like the current managers, Julian cared little, if not at all, for music and art, and was much more interested in the money that Broadway received. While Julian was a patron, he also had stock in the theatre, and ten percent of the profits from any performances would go straight into his pocket.  
  
Julian was also responsible for giving Eliana a place in Broadway, a sin that Loki will never forgive.   
  
But the crime that Loki held over Julian more than any of the others is what he had done to Sigyn, a dancer that Loki had fallen in love with a few years ago.  
  
Sigyn was a beautiful girl, with curly gold hair, and large bright green eyes.  
  
He had sent her love poems and flowers, thinking that she would find it romantic to have a secret admirer in the theatre. However, his dreams were crashed when Julian came along and seduced the star-struck girl, making her believe that it was actually him who had sent the poems and flowers!  
  
Loki wanted to interfere, but he feared that if he would reveal himself a mob discover him and his whereabouts and force him back to the very life that he had escaped. So instead he waited, plotting how he would make Julian pay for what he did.  
  
Sigyn, the foolish girl, believed that Julian did truly love her, and that the two of them were going to run away and get married. So she abandoned her dreams of becoming a star dancer for the scoundrel, disappearing on an early, cold November morning, never to be seen or heard from again.  
  
It wasn’t until after the death of Julian’s father, that the man returned to Broadway, a year later. No one knew what had happened to Sigyn and Julian didn’t seem to be upset at all.   
  
The man was a vile snake; Loki saw how he strode around the theatre like he owned the place, giving the musicians advice, telling the managers how to run the business, and bedding chorus girls and dancers along the way.  
  
The time would come when he would have his revenge on Julian, for all the pain that he had caused to him.   
  
But revenge was a dish that was best served cold… and simply killing the man would be too polite. No, Loki would have his revenge when the time was right, and it would be a long, painful revenge, one full of screaming and begging for mercy. This little joyful thought made him smile, and he easily turned back to his calm demeanour, despite his random outbursts of rage.   
  
That was the emotion that Madame Natasha feared the most.  
  
She could not think of anything else to say, and he seemed to be occupied with the music that she turned around and began to walk away. Yet before she left, he called out to her.  
  
“I’ve seen the violinist’s sister,” he said casually.   
  
Madame Natasha stopped walking and slowly turned back to him, “And?”  
  
“She’s very pretty, you didn’t tell me that,” he said with simple wave of his hand, before turning the page of the score.  
  
“And she appears to be a hard worker. Her care for costumes is impressive,” he added.  
  
“But what I most admire about her… is the way she refused to give Eliana the satisfaction of saying ‘thank you’ for the opportunity to work for her,” he chuckled.  
  
Madame Natasha gave a small smile, but sighed sadly, “I do fear that Eliana will make the poor thing’s live a living hell.”   
  
“Eliana makes everyone’s life a living hell,” Loki grumbled.  
  
“At least she had the courage to stand up to the harpy, despite the so-called accident the bitch had caused to her.”  
  
Madame Natasha’s brow furrowed in confusion, “Accident?”   
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Loki said casually, turning a page from the score.  
  
“The violinist plays very well too, they can both stay here, so long as they follow and obey my rules.”   
  
Madame Natasha nodded and turned to leave again, but Loki called out to her one last time.  
  
“I have a note that you have to deliver. Wanda has it, so go to her before you leave.”  
  
Madame Natasha nodded once again, finally leaving to retrieve the note that Loki had written.   
  
He listened to her footsteps while continuing to play the sweets notes of music written before him.   
  
He noticed out of the corner of his eye a small figure approaching.  
  
“I’m very busy, Skyla. You know that I don’t wish to be disturbed while I’m working,” he said coldly.  
  
The small figure stayed in the shadows, but nodded its head.   
  
“Sorry, sir,” she softly said.  
  
“I just couldn’t help but overhear you talking about the costume girl…”   
  
Loki nodded his head, not lifting his gaze from the music sheet, “Yes, what of it?”  
  
The figure shuffled with her feet before finally responding, “I like her... She seems different. Nice, like the princess.”  
  
Loki paused and looked at the small figure, “Princess?”   
  
Skyla nodded her head, “Yes! From the stories that Wanda told us, like the one with the beast and the rose!”  
  
Loki rolled his eyes and groaned, resuming his playing quickly, “There is no such person, Skyla. It’s just a fairy tale story. Simple as that.”  
  
The small figure shifted her feet nervously again, her voice very soft like a whisper, “But Wanda says…”   
  
Loki’s hands crashed down on the organ.   
  
“THERE IS NO SUCH PERSON!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the cavern and the passageways.   
  
Skyla cried out in fear and quickly backed away, pressing her small frame against the stone wall, like she was hoping that the shadows would keep her safe.  
  
Loki sighed and took a few deep breaths before lifting his head again and start speaking, his tone cold, but calm.  
  
“There is no princess, Skyla. There is no woman on this realm like that…” he sighed one last time before lifting his eyes to where the small girl was shaking in fear.  
  
“Beautiful women and men don’t fall in love with freaks like us, that is the reality of it. And it’s better that you learn this now, before… before you do something foolish and risk hurting yourself.”   
  
Skyla nodded her head like she understood, but she made a strangled sobbing sound before she retreated back down the passageway, her sobs filling the caverns of Loki’s lair.   
  
Loki sighed and cradled his head in his hand. Damn that girl, somehow she was the one to blame for.  
  
He remembered the vulgar scene of Julian and Eliana, together in her dressing room. He had followed her angry shrieks to see if his suspicious were correct, and yes. There was Julian, attempting to win her over with seductive lies. While Loki was a spy, he wasn’t a voyeur, and he had no interest in watching the two persons he despised the most become like wild animals with each other. But before he turned to leave the disgusting scene, he heard Julian asking Eliana the name of the costume girl. Eliana had finally given in, telling him what he wanted to know, and thus getting the reward that he had come to the theatre all along.  
  
Loki hated the man, but he normally didn’t stop his seductions and rendezvous with the girls from Broadway. If they were more worried with what Julian thought of them, they were not fit then to be a part of his theatre.  
  
However, Loki felt this strange urge to protect the violinist’s sister from the hands of that monster. He wasn’t entirely sure why, since he never had felt this way even for Sigyn. But he felt compelled to keep a close watch on the girl, to make sure that her virginity, if she still had it, wasn’t ruined by Julian.   
  
But now, her sweet nature was starting to have an effect on Skyla, and he didn’t need that people he took care of to be filled with such foolish thoughts, like love and romance. Love got him nothing, and he knew that if he had revealed himself to Sigyn back then, she would have been disgusted the second she would’ve seen his face.  
  
Indeed, love was not meant for creatures like him.   
  
The thought made Loki fill with new rage that he pounded his hands on keys from the organ until blood flowed in the same time as the music.


	5. The Real Face of Julian

The next days that followed the first day of work at Broadway went by in blur. The countdown to the opening gala of the season was nearby. Every night, before going to bed, James would play several scores from the opening play for a minimum of two hours. While he played, Anneliese would sit and hum along with tune as she worked hard on repairing the snared costumes of Eliana. She discovered that if she imagined herself in Eliana’s place, she could repair the costumes with greater care, opposite when she was thinking of Eliana, wanting to make the snares worse.  
  
James was not blind though; he noticed his sister’s hatred for the star soprano. He often mentioned that he could speak with the managers, try to make things better for her, and when he learned about the burn that was on her arm, he threatened to tell girl what really thought of her and quit the orchestra! It took almost an hour for Anneliese to calm James down and convince him that if he left now, they would surely become beggars on the street And this city wasn’t kind to beggars.  
  
So the two of them would pass their evenings deep in their work, hoping that might bring some cheer in their situation.   
  
James would every now and then plead Anneliese sing the parts from Eliana, which she refused at first, but now, she couldn’t help herself. She loves the role and the songs!   
  
One night, while James played a note, Anneliese jumped up on her feet and began to twirl around in the room, singing the song with her whole heart, and acting the character. James laughed at how his sister would “ham” up the character, sometimes mimicking the awful acting skills of Eliana, and then he would clap and beg for more. Anneliese blushed, but smiled, knowing that no matter what happened, whether she would get a chance to perform or not, her big brother always made her feel like she was a star.  
  
It were these moments when it was just the two of them that Anneliese cherished and looked forward for when she wakes up every day.  
  
Indeed, while she was grateful for the work, she wasn’t always eager to return to Broadway every day.   
  
Before her first workday was over, Anneliese had been told countless stories of the mysterious Broadway God, better known as the God of Broadway. She heard them first from the stage men, grumbling over who would go fetch some various props that were kept down below the stage. They all complaint about the God and how they feared that his wrath would bring an end to someone’s life… again. Isabella and the other dancers also had stories. They had been passed on by Kyle Walton, the recently fired stage man who seemed to be Broadway’s chief storyteller. It was thanks to these girls that Anneliese learned that the God was a tall, thin, frightening black-caped figure that wore a white mask and committed numerous crimes.   
  
While she may have a somewhat wild imagination, Anneliese tried to not let her Gothic romance sensibilities run around, and think realistically.  
  
After all, the man in charge of these strange stories was a drunkard, how truthful of source could he then be?   
  
However, it was harder for her to think this way after James told her the wild rumour which the other members of the orchestra were whispering to each other; that Mr. Alfredo had been kidnapped by the infamous God and most likely would not return… alive.   
  
Even the managers themselves seemed to be under the spell of this mysterious Broadway God.   
  
Now Anneliese understood the creepy sensations that she felt from the Broadway theatre. But no God, may he be a myth or a real man, could compare to the other, and much more creepy, uneasiness that she felt in Broadway. Not a day went by when she did not arrive to find Julian Dawson waiting close by the room that held the costumes. He was always polite and charming, bowing to her, giving her a big smile, filling her ears with compliments about how lovely she looks, and asking how her health and James’ is. In return, Anneliese would give him a short curtsy, a small smile, thank him for his kind words, and answers his questions with short replies. But she never fawned over him like the dancers did when they saw him, and she never attempted to continue on with the conversation.  
  
After their ritual greeting, she would get straight into work and ignore his presence… if she could at least.   
  
Yes, it seemed that everyone, except for Madame Natasha and Max, were taken by Julian’s charm and handsome smile. The managers fell over their feet to please him, Eliana constantly flirted with the man, and the dancers giggled constantly whenever he was present. He had even managed to charm her beloved brother.  
  
One evening, James asked her about Julian.   
  
“He’s a very handsome man, polite, charming, quite a gentleman. And he does seem to be taken with you,” he said with a smile.   
  
“James, he’s simply being polite. I’m sure, tis nothing more than that,” she grumbled over her needlework.  
  
Yet James would not hear it. He was a romantic, and because their mother came from a rich family, he didn’t see it is so impossible for a wealthy man to fall in love with a woman of little fortune, like their mother. Anneliese knew that James meant it all well, but he made her feel like she was a charity project.  
  
To be honest, Anneliese never found herself to be looking forward to seeing Julian every single day.   
  
The first two mornings, he simply greeted her as a perfectly normal gentleman would do when greeting a woman on the street. Afterwards, he would eventually disappear and would not see him till the next day. But on the third time, he would not leave so easily. He would come and look over her shoulder at the work she was doing, complimenting her skills, and giving her more false flattery. Those praises made Anneliese feel uneasy, for it was no praise purely given, but praise that held some ransom, like she owed him a compliment… or more, in return.   
  
He would stay and loom over her till she made up an excuse that she had to go find Eliana to see what she thought of it. That would normally get him to leave, and Anneliese would retreat then to somewhere private to get her work done.   
  
However, one day he would not leave; he remained with her and continued looming, speaking pleasantly at her, but Anneliese found herself to be growing even more uneasy. She could feel his eyes upon her, and it made her feel violated, like he was stripping her gown and undergarments and exposing her body with his eyes only. She shivered, and he took it that this meant that she was cold. She jumped when she felt him wrapping his coat around her shoulders, and his hand lingered longer than it should have.   
  
Her hands were being clumsy, tripping over themselves while she was attempting to sew, due to the nervousness and discomfort she felt thanks to the man’s presence. And her theory was correct that the man was filling her with false compliments when kept on with giving her flattering compliments when she made an a very obvious stitching error.  
  
She was working on a very elegant gown, made with blue ruffles, when his presence alarmed her and she accidently pricked her finger. She gasped when the blood hit the fine fabric, knowing that she would never hear the end of it from Eliana when she discovers the stain. It was a great pity, since she too loved this gown very much.   
  
Julian, confusing her distress for the gown with her distress over her pricked finger, cried out her name, before grasping her small hand in his large one.  
  
“My lady, you’ve hurt yourself!”  
  
“It’s nothing,” Anneliese insisted, plastering a polite smile on her lips, while at the same time trying to attempt to wriggle her hand free from his.  
  
“Nonsense! It could become infected! Come, let me help you.”  
  
“Mr. Dawson, that is not necessary. I-“  
  
“I will not hear it, my lady. Come… I insist. I have just the thing that can help…” he was literally dragging her from her seat and out of the room.  
  
Anneliese continued to try and free herself from his grip, but it seemed to be no use. The man was quite strong and it hurts, the way he gripped her arm.  
  
“Ah, here we are,” he said with a smile, leading her to a lounge just beyond the stairway that led to the private boxes that looked over the stage.  
  
Anneliese had hoped that he would at least release her, but instead he sort of pushed her into a chaise lounge, while his other hand reached for a bottle of wine which came from a small bag that stood next to it. He smiled and opened the wine bottle before dabbing a small amount of the liquid onto a handkerchief and using it to dab her cut.  
  
“Mr. Dawson, that is not necessary,” Anneliese protested.   
  
“As you can see, the blood has stopped and the wound is already closing-“  
  
“Nonsense, one can never be too careful,” he said in a patronizing tone, like she was a small child that didn’t know better.  
  
“There, doesn’t it feel better?” he asked, his hand gripping her arm quite possessively, while he smiled at her warmly.  
  
Despite the warmth, Anneliese felt anything but better.   
  
“Indeed, Mr. Dawson. You’re right, this has done me some good,” she quickly said, giving a polite smile before quickly rising back on her feet.  
  
“Thank you very much, but if you will excuse me-“  
  
“Now wait just a moment,” he said with a chuckle, while his hand reached out again to grab her arm again, before pulling her back down beside him.  
  
“Not so fast, my dear. What’s the hurry?” he asked, before lounging back in the chaise.  
  
Anneliese gave a small smile, but anyone could tell that it was forced, “Tomorrow is the opening gala and I still have a lot of work. It must get done-“  
  
Julian waved her worry off with his hand, like one would do to get rid of a pesky fly.  
  
“All in good time, my lady. All in good time. But first… let us celebrate,” he said with a smile, before reaching into the small bag the wine had come out from, and pulled out two glasses.  
  
He had planned this.   
  
Why else would a gentleman of his status have brought wine and two glasses and then secretly hide them in… most likely his own private lounge?   
  
She had to keep her head cool despite all of this.  
  
“I don’t understand what we have to celebrate, Mr. Dawson,” she said shortly.  
  
“Please, you may call me Julian,” he said while pouring wine, like he was granting her a huge favour.  
  
“And we have many things to celebrate about! Why, the opening of the gala, your triumphs in making costumes-“   
  
“Mr. Dawson-“   
  
“Julian-“   
  
“MR. DAWSON!” she said with a bit more force than she had planned to, but knew it was necessary to get this man to understand it.  
  
“Thank you, but no thank you… there won’t be a cause to celebrate anything if I do not get back to work and get it done.”   
  
With that, she rose again quickly on her feet and started to exit the lounge.   
  
“I beg your pardon, Anneliese. I thought you to be someone above such rude behaviour.”   
  
She paused in her steps, his words intentionally pricking into her.   
  
She turned slowly around and lifted one eyebrow, “Excuse me?”  
  
He was grinning, “After all I have done for you, you leave me like this… I must say, it simply seems… ungrateful, if you ask me.”  
  
She couldn’t believe she was hearing this, “Ungrateful?”  
  
He nodded his head, lounging further back onto the chaise, his arms stretched out behind him.   
  
There was that smirk that Anneliese wanted so badly to slap off.   
  
How dare he say such things to her! And how dare he to presume that he could call her by her first name! They weren’t intimate friends or equals; how dare he use the power of his status to assume he had authority over her!  
  
Hot anger was boiling in her veins; his conceitedness was, god forbid it, even worse than Eliana’s!  
  
“Sir,” she said through pressed lips.  
  
“I don’t believe I have ever been so horribly insulted in my whole life. I must get back to work at once.”   
  
Julian stared at the retreating figure, the smirk he had worn just earlier was now gone.  
  
Did that just happen?   
  
No woman had _ever_ refused him!   
  
He quickly leapt up on his feet and just needed a few strides to place his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.  
  
“Insulted?” he quickly calmed done his tone and forced a smile on his lips.  
  
“I am sorry, my dear. I was only making a joke. I did not mean-“   
  
Anneliese was able to shrug his hand off her shoulder and twirled away, stomping back to the costume room.  
  
Julian stared at her, his mouth wide open.  
  
She had rejected him! She had turned away from him before he could even finish what he wanted to say… and rejected him! That ungrateful, spoiled, little-  
  
“Mr. Dawson?”   
  
Julian groaned when he saw the dance mistress who appeared out of nowhere. Anneliese was getting away before he even had the opportunity to turn the girl around and give her a good harsh shake for insulting him. He watched as walked away from him further and further, vowing right then and now that he would have the girl, one way or another.  
  
“Mr. Dawson?”   
  
He forced a smile and focused his attention on the woman that was standing before him, “Madame Romanoff… how wonderful to see you again.”   
  
The woman did not smile at him, she only handed him a note icily, “This arrived for you, sir… I suggest you read it at once.”  
  
With that, she turned away and walked back into the shadows were she had come from.  
  
Although Anneliese was a good distance away from Julian, she heard the words from Madame Natasha about the note. She remembered how Isabella told her that the God only communicated with them through notes, and while she was still trying to convince herself that the whole notion of the God of Broadway was ridiculous, she found herself stopping her tracks after she had turned around the corner.   
  
She overheard Julian mumbling the words of the note, before crushing and crumbling it. He threw it on the ground and stomped off in a different direction.   
  
Anneliese waited a few seconds, listening to the distancing footsteps, before she emerged from her hiding place. She quickly rushed to where he had been standing and picked up the crumbled note from the ground. She smoothed out the paper as best as she could, before reading it.   
  
_**To Julian Dawson,**_  
  
 _ **Mr. Dawson, I do advice you to not harass the people of the theatre. Since you interests in the theatre is limited, I suggest that you leave all staff matters to me… and keep the little understanding that you have of theatre business to strictly fucking the prima donna-**_  
  
Anneliese gasped at the words and blushed deeply.   
  
Was… was this true?   
  
She recalled how Eliana would always throw herself at him… and the mysterious engagement the two of them had while in her dressing room…  
  
She shook her head, not wanting to dwell on such things, and continued on reading.   
  
_**And walking around like a plumed peacock.** _  
  
_**Good day, I remain, - B.G.**_   
  
Anneliese stared down at the initials of the note from a long time.   
  
B.G. – Broadway God.   
  
Were the stories true? Was it possible that the God was not a myth?  
  
But a god could not write these kind of notes… at least not the ones that were in Anneliese’s novels. But maybe he truly was an actual man… a mad man, living somewhere within the theatre, watching everything that was going on in the theatre, watching… watching her right at this moment.   
  
She swallowed and rose up.   
  
Earlier, when she believed the stories to be simply just stories, she had found the idea romantic, while creepy as well. But now, Anneliese felt cold shiver down her spine, and she found herself moving back quickly to where she had left her work.  
  
 _“Wait,”_ she thought as she paused.   
  
_“Madame Romanoff was the one who delivered the note… she must have written it then!”_  
  
Yes!   
  
It made sense; Anneliese could easily tell that Madame Natasha had cold dislike to Julian. She must’ve written the note, and then initial it as the Broadway God to frighten him – or at least upset him – either way to get him to leave.   
  
That must be it, a note in the disguise of the God’s threat.   
  
She felt much calmer at the thought, yet there was still a tiny piece of her that also regretted the reality of it; while the stories of the God sounded frightening, the idea of a mysterious shadow clad-prince coming to her rescue was very romantic.  
  
 _“Anneliese, you have to get control over your sensibilities!”_ she scolded herself before rushing back to the costume room. 

* * *

Loki smiled wickedly from his hidden spot on the rooftop and watched an angry Julian Dawson exit the building.  
  
Julian stalked in fury towards the carriage. The driver leapt up to his feet and opened the door, flinching when he saw the nobleman’s expression.  
  
“Get us out of here!” Julian ordered, settling back into his carriage and glaring at the theatre in front of him.  
  
“Make no mistake,” he muttered angrily to himself.  
  
“I will have her.”  
  
Loki watched with amusement as the carriage was pulled away. He couldn’t help but laugh at the whole situation. The sight of Julian Dawson getting rejected by a beautiful woman was extremely comical to Loki.   
  
He leaned against the stone humans he was hiding behind and laughed for a good long time, not caring if anyone would hear him; it won’t only convince other to believe the stories about the infamous Broadway God.  
  
Indeed, Broadway hadn’t been this entertaining since… well, since Eliana first placed her large foot on the stage. The costume girl was truly fascinating; she wasn’t like the others. Despite Julian’s compliments and good looks, she saw past the façade and would have none of his bullying. She was intelligent and brave, outwitting Julian and standing up to Eliana; indeed, he liked this girl very much.

His smile faded at that thought. Yes, the girl was extremely different compared to the squealing dancers, but she was still a pretty face that would scream at the sight of him if he would reveal himself to her. His lips twisted in disgust as he thought of how often he would come to see her work. He supposed it al began when Julian wouldn’t leave her alone. He found himself pitying for the girl, something he almost never did, and today, when he realized that the son of a bitch was interfering with the young woman’s concentration to the point that she accidently injured herself, he had to intervene.  
  
Loki felt his grin return to his lips as he recalled Julian’s displeasure at the note he had ordered Madame Natasha to deliver.   
  
Julian did not believe in the God, he was far too “rational” for such things. However, Loki knew that Julian would get upset when he received reminders of the God’s existence. His grin grew wider as he thought that one day, Julian would not be able to deny his very presence anymore.  
  
The bells that rang through the city reminded Loki of the vast amount of work that still needed to be done for the opening gala. “Faust” would be the first play of the season; thank God that the managers followed at least some of his instructions. Indeed, there were still many things to be done. If only he could find a soprano to replace the harpy.

* * *

That night, Anneliese barely slept. Her dreams were plagued with a dark figure, cloaked in darkness, calling out her name in a haunting voice, while sweet chilling music played in the background. She couldn’t see his face, yet she went to him, his voice enchanting her like a siren’s voice. She tried to touch him, but he would move out of the way. However, she felt his upon her; they were large, rough, worker’s hands, yet they were also gentle, touching her like she was a finely tuned instrument, waiting to be played for the first time.   
  
Every dream was the same: haunting, chilling, erotic. And when she would wake up, she would be covered in sweat and her body was throbbing for the touch of her dark prince. These thoughts and feelings frightened her, for she had a funny feeling she knew very well who the man in her dreams was.  
  
The sun came too early for her.   
  
Anneliese groaned when James came to rouse her out of bed, “Come! We have much to do today… tonight is the opening gala of the theatre’s new season!”  
  
With much unwillingness, Anneliese forced herself out of bed and hurried off with James to Broadway Theatre.   
  
The place was complete chaos. While the gala would not start till seven o’clock, there was a frantic state to get everything in order. The managers were running around, trying to please Eliana and be sure that everything was prepared on stage. Madame Natasha worked strictly with the dance, telling the girls that only perfection would satisfy her. The orchestra rehearsed the entire score for the play, complete with the chorus and one star. Max sang, but Eliana believed herself to be ready, and chose to spend the day pampering herself.   
  
Meanwhile, Anneliese carefully added the final touches to Eliana’s costumes and gently laid them out for the over-confident star to change in to.   
  
Throughout the whole day, Anneliese kept hearing people talking about mysterious notes. Dancers and stage men gossiped about the notes that were mysteriously appearing by the hour to the managers, demanding perfection for the evening. Anneliese couldn’t help but grin when she heard two giggling dancers that one note demanded that Eliana’s understudy would perform instead.   
  
Yet, Anneliese found herself even more confused than before. She had spent so much energy the previous day to convince herself that the note Madame Natasha had delivered to Julian was written by the cold dance mistress herself. However, there was a small annoying voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her that it was him, the mysterious God. Now, with the talk over all these notes, she found that voice growing louder and louder.  
  
The day went by in a whirl. Before anyone knew it, night had fallen over Broadway, and slowly, dressed in elegant silk, linen, the important society of New York arrived in their dazzling carriages.   
  
Anneliese managed to sneak away for a few minutes and watched from a balcony that overlooked the grand foyer, the arrival of the wealthy society. Her eyes quickly scanned the crowded scene before her and saw no sign of the handsome Julian. She found it odd that a man who patronized the theatre as well as he, would not come to a performance, especially the opening play of the season. However, she remembered how upset he looked after reading the infamous note. Perhaps it was her words; perhaps she was able to sting him with the truth and he was unable to remove that sting. She couldn’t but grin a little at that thought.   
  
Meanwhile, James was tuning his instrument backstage, trying to calm his nerves. He hadn’t played for audience for a long time, and finally his opportunity had come.  
  
He need to calm down; his hands were shaking so violently he was afraid he couldn’t play properly tonight!   
  
What he really needed was some fresh air, or at the very least, a brief walk away from the auditorium.   
  
While wealthy people weren’t being seated yet, he could hear them in the foyer and in their private lounges, clicking glasses of champagne and laughing loudly amongst themselves.  
  
Yes, he needed to walk away and mentally prepare himself for this wonderful, yet slightly terrifying opportunity.  
  
“I am not going down there!” muttered a gruff looking stage man.  
  
James turned his head to see a group of strong unshaven stage men argue over who needed to fetch a prop for the play.  
  
“Well I am not doing it!” another said just as fiercely.  
  
“Kyle always warned us that if you went down below without permission, you would never return alive! Remember Mr. Burke? Has anyone seen him since he disappeared below the stage a year ago?”   
  
“Well someone has to go down there!” another added.   
  
“Stark said that they need that prop, that it’s important for the play-“   
  
“Oh fuck Stark and the whole lot of them! They don’t understand the things we risk here and what we put up with! He wants it so bad? Let him get it!”  
  
James cleared his throat, and the small group of men turned towards him. Their eyes widened at the sight of person who was asking for their attention.  
  
“Pardon me, gentlemen. But… I do not understand why there is this fear of simply going down below to retrieve a simple prop.”  
  
The men looked at each other, then back at the young man, then back to each other, as if to understand they had heard him right.  
  
“Don’t understand?” one of them asked.   
  
“Don’t you know about… about… you know, the god?”   
  
James made a sound that signified disbelief, “Oh come now. I wouldn’t think that men like you would believe in such mythical stories.”  
  
“They are true stories!” one of the stage men said gruffly.  
  
“I’ve seen him! He lurks in the shadows, and I was lucky to get away with my life! He had his daggers with him, and he was going to place it on my neck, when I-“  
  
“When did this happen to you?” one of them asked sceptical.   
  
The other, who had been telling the story, became flustered at the question, “W-Why… surely you remember, that day… a few months ago, when I didn’t come to work? I’m sure I told you…”   
  
“I remember that day you didn’t show up for work, because you were as drunk as a sewer rat! That’s one of Kyle’s stories about the God, you lying-“  
  
“GENTLEMEN!”   
  
All of the stage men turned to look at the young man again, surprised that he had such a voice. James straightened his posture, knowing that any of these men could squash him like a bug if they wished to. But he couldn’t believe that such childish stories had these gruff looking men shaking in their boots.  
  
“If none of you are willing to fetch whatever this – what is the prop?”  
  
“A spinning wheel,” one of them muttered.  
  
“It’s been in the storage for years, but apparently Eliana’s character needs it.”  
  
James nodded, “Very well, since none of you will venture down below to retrieve this spinning wheel…” he sighed deeply, like he did when he was handling Anneliese’s fears when she was a young child, “then I’ll go and fetch it.”   
  
The stage men stared blankly at James, like they weren’t quite sure if they had heard him correctly. Then all at once, the whole lot burst into hysterical laughter.  
  
“Y-You?!” one of them said through his chuckles.  
  
“You, a young man… are going to go down below… into the God’s domain?!”   
  
They all burst into laughter again.  
  
James grunted, straightening himself more and glaring at the buffoons before him.   
  
“Yes!” he said with determination, lifting his chin proudly.  
  
“I will! I, a violinist, will do the job of a stage man, the job of men who are too afraid of the dark!”  
  
They all kept on laughing, “You w-would be afraid too, if you k-knew w-what was down t-there!”   
  
James shook his and turned on his heel.

“Which way do I go?” he asked, looking for a door that would lead him away.  
  
The men’s laughter rose into a whole new level after his question.  
  
James despised being laughed at, especially by people who thought that they were inferior then him. His mother’s family was no different. Even when he had announced to his old friends that he was going to become a violinist they laughed at him. Only Anneliese, his beloved little sister, believed and supported his dream. And she knew that when he was determined, he could become very foolish, because of his stubborn pride.   
  
So naturally, when these men continued to laugh at him, he felt his pride rising along with his stubbornness, and knew that fetching this silly spinning wheel would prove that he, a young man, was not afraid of such silly stories.  
  
So he set off, spying a door that would surely lead to down below, marching over to it, and turned one last time to look at his laughing companions.  
  
It was slowly beginning to die down, as they looked at him before he descended down the darkened steps behind the door.  
  
“I’ll return soon with your precious prop,” James snapped, before taking a deep breath and stepping down into the dark passageway.   
  
No one was laughing anymore. For deep withing their hearts, the stage men knew very well, especially after they exchanged worried glances to each other, that the young man had descended down to his death.


	6. Entering The Darkness

It was dark down below. Darker than the black velvet curtains that hung back stage.   
  
James was slowly beginning to regret his decision to fetch this silly spinning wheel that no one, until now, had thought to go to retrieve it. After all, it wasn’t his job, he should’ve made one of those stage men accompany him. But a man’s pride could also be the root of his existence, and James knew that he had let his foolish, stubborn pride bring him to this world of darkness.  
  
If Anneliese knew what he was doing and why… he would never hear the end of it from her.  
  
“I should’ve brought a light,” James muttered, his hands reaching out to touch… anything actually.   
  
“So this is what it’s like to be blind…” he whispered to himself, not liking it at all.   
  
He continued a few more steps before sighing and stopping. This was foolish, extremely foolish, and he had a job to do as a violinist. Wasting his time down here, seeking something that he couldn’t even see, let alone having no clue where to find the spinning wheel, was a horrible idea. Best turn back around and head back-  
  
“Ow!” James stumbled backwards as he hit the hard surface.  
  
Did he just walk into a wall? But… how could that be?  
  
He had just come from that direction, all he had done was turn around…  
  
“Strange,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead and attempting to side step the wall or the hard object that had hit him.   
  
The problem was… there was nowhere to side step, “How?”   
  
He kept trying to go around the wall, but it was like the wall just kept going on and on!   
  
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice rising in panic as he attempted to move again, but kept coming into contact with a hard unseen barrier.   
  
James turned a different direction, hoping that somehow he could find his way back… but that too was blocked off.   
  
“What the hell…?” he was completely stunned.   
  
He knew there wasn’t a wall there before, but somehow… it had appeared out of nowhere!  
  
It was like… he was slowly being boxed in…  
  
“HELLO?!” he cried out.  
  
“CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!”   
  
Silence.   
  
“HELLO?! I NEED HELP! I’M TRAPPED DOWN HERE-“   
  
Footsteps. He heard footsteps slowly approaching him.  
  
“Oh thank god,” he muttered, his hand placed on his chest gently to ease his heart.  
  
“Hello? I’m afraid that I am stuck! Can you-“  
  
The footsteps paused.  
  
James listened closely, but no sound was made again, “Hello?”  
  
Faintly at first, but growing ever so slowly, was the sound of heavy breathing.  
  
James gulped, his hand trembling on his chest, “H-Hello?”   
  
The breathing continued, and it was different now. It was like there were several people. And it seemed to be coming from all around him. James tried to calm down, but he found it extremely difficult.  
  
“N-Now s-see here…” he said while mustering up his courage.  
  
“If you’re n-not going to help me… t-then you best leave…”  
  
There was a long silence… until a voice, low, a little gruff, and deep, muttered, “You shouldn’t be down here…”   
  
James gasped and found himself backing up against the mysterious wall.  
  
“W-Who are you?” he demanded frightened.   
  
“You’re a trespasser,” the gruff voice accused him.  
  
“We don’t like trespassers…”   
  
James looked shocked, “W-We?”  
  
“Leave him alone, Bucky!”   
  
“Stay out of this, Skyla! You know his Majesty’s rules about trespassers! Or do you want to end back in Hydra?!”   
  
The other voice began to cry in fear.   
  
James couldn’t see a thing, but the other voice sounded like a young female, strange actually. He flattened himself as much as he could against the wall.   
  
“There is no need for that, Bucky,” a new voice warned.  
  
This voice was also a little gruff, but not as frightening as the other one. The new voice then began to speak tenderly to the crying figure.  
  
“Don’t lecture me, Pietro! I’ll speak to her as I please! Besides, she’s always like this whenever someone-“  
  
“She’s a child, Bucky! And she doesn’t meet a lot of people… she doesn’t understand.”  
  
James heard a scoffing sound, and assumed it came from the voice named “Bucky”.  
  
“She should know better! And if she think that I’m frightening, wait till his Majesty discovers she allowed a trespasser to go-“  
  
The crying became louder. Through the crying, James could hear both comforting and swearing words. He felt along the wall, hoping to find something that would set him free from this dark, frightening prison, but it was all in vain.  
  
“All of you, stop this at once!”   
  
A new voice emerged, calm, young, another female?   
  
“Wanda-“  
  
“No, Bucky! You listen to me…” she icily snapped.  
  
“I’m tired of all this bloodshed; I’m tired of this whole mess. What is this man’s crime?”   
  
There was a gasping sound, almost like someone that was shocked by the mere question, “What has he done? He’s trespassing! You know his Majesty’s rules!”   
  
Before James knew what was happening, he found himself speaking to the darkness, “I… I d-didn’t mean to trespass. I swear! I came down to find a prop for tonight’s play. A spinning wheel… please, I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”  
  
The was a silent pause, before the woman’s voice spoke again.  
  
“Put on your capes,” she ordered.  
  
“WHAT?!” Bucky shouted.  
  
“Put… on… your… capes!” she hissed.   
  
There was a shuffling sound, like someone was moving quickly.  
  
The sound was interrupted by Bucky’s protest, “Am I the only who cares what happens to us?! Am I the only one who shares his Majesty’s feelings on this matter?! Have you all forgotten what it was like in Hydra?!”  
  
The crying started again, but the woman’s voice quickly silenced them both, “Go then, Bucky. Go and be gone. I’ll take responsibility.”  
  
James listened as the footsteps vanished somewhere in the darkness, and the crying changed into sniffles. Without warning, a light flickered on, and an oil lamp appeared, illuminating the small place.   
  
The light hurts in his eyes, and James peered through the shadows, attempting to see who was holding the light. He gasped when he saw two covered women before him, a young girl who seemed to be very small, and the other was a young woman, both of them completely covered.  
  
“Come, sir. We will show you what you are looking for… and a different way out of here.”   
  
James was almost too shocked by what had happened and was taking place before him.  
  
The young woman figure gestured him to follow them, “You can’t go back that way, sir. Believe me. And if you wish to escape, it’s best if you follow Skyla and me.”   
  
“I… I…” he was stumbling over his words, trying to find his voice but to no avail.  
  
Who were these people? What was going on? And… who was this mysterious “king” they kept mentioning?  
  
The young woman gave an exasperated sigh, then came forward and grasped his arm tightly, “Sir, you must follow us.”  
  
It suddenly occurred to James that the voice of the young woman was the same voice he had heard earlier.  
  
“My name is Wanda, and we shall help you get out of here.”   
  
He didn’t say anything, simply nodding his head and allowed the woman to pull him by the arm.   
  
The small figure took deep breath, and began to follow them behind. James gulped, unsure what to think or believe, and wondering if he was truly safe.   
  
Like she was reading his thoughts, the young woman said, “Have no fear, sir. Skyla is quite harmless.”  
  
The small figure who was following them started to laugh at the words, a laugh full of merriment and excitement, “Do you know princesses?”   
  
James was thrown back by the question that Skyla had asked.   
  
“W-What?” he asked, still being dragged by the young woman, but attempting to turn around and face the small girl.  
  
“Princesses! I… I know a story with a beautiful princess!” she said happily.  
  
Wanda sighed, “Ever since I told Skyla the story of Beauty and the Beast, she dreams of meeting princesses.”  
  
James nodded, but he was lost for words.  
  
It was as if… as if these people lived normal lives and discussed normal things… yet lived below the theatre!   
  
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone walking fast over the hard earthy floor.  
  
“W-What was that?” James asked, trying to keep his voice calm.   
  
“My brother, Pietro,” Wanda said.   
  
It was so matter of fact that James felt foolish for asking, “W-Why can’t I s-see him?”   
  
Skyla was quick to answer, “Pietro is speeder! He-“   
  
“Skyla!” Wanda barked.   
  
Skyla instantly shrank back and kept her mouth shut.  
  
They continued on, although James found himself in deeper confusion with horrific images flying through his mind.  
  
A human with speed power? And these two covered in black capes?  
  
What sort of place was this!   
  
“Here we are!” Wanda announced, after what seemed like an eternity through twisted tunnels and dark caverns.  
  
The fast sound that the young woman had identified as “Pietro” moved quickly to a ladder behind them  
  
. “You would’ve never found the spinning wheel without our help, I’m afraid,” the woman announced.  
  
“I’ve been using it for making clothes,” she explained.   
  
“I often forget that I have to share the props with the theatre,” she softly chuckled, to which Skyla joined.   
  
James gasped when he saw the spinning wheel being lowered down from overhead.   
  
“Ah! Thank you, brother!” the woman said brightly.   
  
“I’m not so good in climbing, but he’s wonderful at it,” she explained.  
  
James just simply nodded, the lump in his throat not allowing him to speak.  
  
“Skyla, I want you to hold this, and mind the spindle,” Wanda instructed, handing the small girl the prop that James had been looking for.   
  
“If I’m not careful, I may fall asleep for a hundred years! Just like in the story!”   
  
Wanda nodded her head at Skyla’s words, “Exactly, so be very careful.”   
  
She then turned back to James, “Now, sir. We shall find you a way out-“  
  
A great gust of cold wind blew through the tunnel, knocking the oil lamp that Wanda had been holding out of her hand, the light disappearing into the shadows. Darkness enveloped the cavern, and Skyla gave out a cry of fear, before dropping the spinning wheel and rushing past James, bumping into him, which caused the young man to fall to the ground.  
  
“Your Majesty!” Wanda cried.  
  
“Please, let us explain! This man simply came to retrieve-“  
  
Her words were cut off by a roar of rage, “TRESPASSER!”   
  
James gasped at the sound.  
  
He had never heard anything like it! It… it barely sounded human!  
  
“You did this, Bucky!” accused the voice of Pietro, who was speaking overhead.   
  
Bucky’s voice filled the cavern, responding to Pietro’s accusation, “He would’ve learned sooner or later! And you the rules! See, sir! I was against this all alo-“  
  
“SILENCE!”   
  
Both Bucky and Pietro backed away, and the only sounds James could hear were elegant footsteps, and his own heartbeat, ringing loudly in his ears.   
  
He was trembling violently, attempting to back away, but the steps approached closer, louder, each sound becoming more threatening.  
  
He wanted to plead for his life, beg for forgiveness, anything to would wake him up from this nightmare!   
  
There was a menacing pause, and then, with cold breath hitting his face, James heard the most frightening voice that had ever filled his ears.  
  
“Who are you…” the voice was a hiss.   
  
It was a hiss that would shame snakes and make anyone plea for his life, “And what are you doing here?”  
  
“I… I j-just w-wanted…”   
  
“Do you know what I do with trespassers?” the voice asked in a menacing voice.  
  
“I… I d-didn’t mean to t-trespass! I… I j-just w-wanted… p-please!”   
  
“Your Majesty!” Wanda’s voice joined in.  
  
“He didn’t know the rules! He’s new! I’ve never seen-“   
  
“I KNOW WHO HE IS!” the dark voice snapped.  
  
“And I know that he does know my rules.”   
  
James had no idea who this person, or maybe not even that, more like a monster was… but a horrifying feeling was filling him and causing his whole body to shudder and tremble with cold knowledge.  
  
“P-Please…”   
  
“You know the rules…” the voice hissed.  
  
“And yet you disobeyed it. You just wanted to come and see the God… didn’t you?” the sound of sinister glee rose with each word.   
  
James attempted to shake his head, but he was too scared.   
  
A sudden flicker of light illuminated the cavern floor, “Well… I wouldn’t want to disappoint…”   
  
The light rose off from the floor, higher and higher, until James’ eyes widened with horror at the sight illuminated before him.

* * *

Despite the noise of the crowded foyer and auditorium, those that worked back stage jumped at the sound of the two managers’ screams.  
  
“I swear! I could _kill_ that man!” Rhodey shouted in frustration.  
  
Tony lost his colour at the words of his colleague, quickly signalling for Rhodey to lower his voice, “Quiet! The last thing we need is for Eliana… or Mr. Dawson for that matter, to learn that something is amiss!”  
  
Rhodey threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, “How could he do this to us, Tony?! After allowing both him and his mouse of a sister jobs in our theatre! How could he do this to us?!”  
  
“Calm yourself, Rhodey,” Tony attempted.   
  
Rhodey, however, was anything but calm, “What are we going to do?! We need that violin! Eliana sings with a violin solo during Act II! No one knows that solo but James Romero!”  
  
Rhodey began pacing around, “It’s just like with Alfredo! He’s disappeared! He’s taken out money and he left! Without a word, without a reason, without-“  
  
Tony marched up to the man and slapped him hard across the face.  
  
“Get a hold of yourself!” he hissed, before glancing around to see if anyone was seeing them.  
  
The managers were back stage after being called by Madam Maria, the orchestra conductor.  
  
Maria filled the managers’ ears with complaints, all centring around the fact that James was nowhere to be seen, no one could find him or knew where he was, and the play had been delayed for already ten minutes!  
  
Eliana was pacing around angrily, wondering what the problem was, and indeed, in the auditorium, the patrons were beginning to grow restless.   
  
After learning the news, Rhodey and Tony were panicking, wondering should be done – besides firing James, once he was found.  
  
Madame Natasha had been sent to fetch Anneliese, who was hard at work with preparing the frustrated Eliana.  
  
“I’m sure the girl knows where the man is,” Tony attempted to reassure his partner.  
  
But Rhodey wasn’t so convinced, “And if not?! Then what?! We still need to start the play! These people paid a lot of money! We can’t lose that money! This is the first performance of the season! We’ll be ruined if-“   
  
Tony slapped Rhodey again.   
  
“Shut up!” he hissed.   
  
The two then realized that they were being watched and turned around to see surprised and somewhat pale Anneliese standing behind the dance mistress.   
  
“You wanted to speak with me?” she asked, her voice timid for she feared that something was wrong.  
  
Tony cleared his throat and nodded, his eyes staring into hers, “When did you last see your brother, Miss?”   
  
Anneliese’s pale face turned even whiter.  
  
“My brother?” her tone was high and full of worry.  
  
Madame Natasha placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulders to calm her down.  
  
Anneliese looked at both managers, “What happened? Is he alright? What’s wrong?”  
  
“Miss, please remain calm,” Tony whispered, trying to stay calm as well.  
  
“Madam Hill hasn’t seen him since earlier this evening, before any of the patrons were seated. And… well, as you know, we need him to play that violin piece, and no one can find him-“   
  
“He’s missing?!” Anneliese practically shrieked.   
  
Tony placed a finger to her lips to silence her.   
  
“Hush! We cannot have a scene! We-“  
  
But it was already too late. Eliana, looking more annoyed then ever, walked over to the managers with Max close behind her.   
  
“WELL?!” she screeched.  
  
“What are we waiting for?!”   
  
“Madam, please! You must keep your voice down-“   
  
“I WILL DO AS I PLEASE WHEN I PLEASE, AND I WILL SPEAK AS I PLEASE!” she barked.  
  
“Now tell me… what is going on?!”  
  
Mustering up as much calmness as he could, Rhodey stepped forward to explain it all, “It appears that Mr. James Romero is missing, and we are-“   
  
“MISSING?!” she shrieked.  
  
Winching from the sharpness of her voice, both managers nodded.  
  
Eliana looked at them coldly, before turning on her heel, “Then fire him! And start the overture!”   
  
“What!” Anneliese shouted, staring at Eliana in horror.  
  
“You can’t fire him! Something must be wrong! He would never miss a performance! We have to find him! Please! He… he could be hurt! Laying somewhere and no one can hear him!” hot tears from fear and worry were streaming down Anneliese’s cheeks.   
  
“Who gives a damn?!” Eliana spat.   
  
Silence filled the space. Silence… and then the sound of Anneliese walking up to Eliana and without warning, slapped her directly in the face.   
  
“YOU DISPICABLE, UNTALENTED, HEARTLESS MONSTER!” Anneliese shouted, her finger pointing at the screaming prima donna who was pleading for Max to save her.   
  
Everyone was frozen in shock at the scene before them, and it took a blood curdling scream from Eliana before anyone responded and pulled the furious costume girl off the sobbing soprano.   
  
“Miss! Control yourself!” Tony shouted.  
  
Madame Natasha pulled Anneliese away from the managers and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl who was sobbing with anger and worry for her big brother.   
  
Max helped Eliana stand up, comforting her, to which she pushed him away.  
  
“That little _bitch_ better be gone by the time the first act is finished!” she spat.  
  
“Ugh! My make-up and hair is ruined!” she wailed as she stomped off.   
  
Tony and Rhodey stared at the retreating figure of their beloved star, not sure what to say or do, but any thoughts on that matter were quickly gone when an doorman appeared.  
  
“Pardon me, but… Mr. Dawson is here and he is growing impatient and says that the play should start, or he will demand… his money back,” the man whispered in horror.   
  
Both managers became pale as they heard those words of doom.

“Tell Madam Hill to start the overture right now!” Rhodey ordered.  
  
Tony turned back to the sobbing girl who was still being held closely by the dance mistress. He sighed and locked eyes with the older woman.

“Madame Romanoff, if… would you please escort Miss Romero out,” he whispered.   
  
Madame Natasha simply returned Tony’s words with a cold stare.   
  
The managers turned around and left, leaving the women behind.  
  
“There, there, child. It will be alright…” the dance mistress soothed.   
  
Anneliese pushed herself away from the woman, “Alright?! I… I just slapped Eliana Jones! I’ve lost my job! My brother is missing! And… and I just ruined his opportunity at achieving his dream!”  
  
Madame Natasha knew that no amount of comforting and reassuring words could help Anneliese. She sighed and found herself glaring into the shadows.  
  
She knew that this was Loki’s fault for the disappearance of the man. She could only pray that the God would have a small amount of compassion for the young man, letting him live. But she highly doubted that he would.  
  
The notes of the overture rose in the air, and the lights at the sound of applause filled the auditorium as the curtains slowly opened. Madame Natasha took hold of Anneliese’s shoulders and forced the girl to look at her.  
  
“I will help you, but you must listen carefully to what I’m saying,” she whispered.  
  
“Right now, I have to help with the performance of the play. If I don’t, more disaster may come. But as soon as it is over, I will… investigate this…”  
  
Anneliese’s brow furrowed at the woman’s words.   
  
Investigate? What did she mean with that?  
  
But before she could open her mouth to ask her, the dance mistress continued, “You must trust me, Anneliese. I will find out what has happened to your brother and find him. I promise. In the meantime, it’s best that you would head back home.”  
  
“But-“   
  
“Please. I know this all must sound confusing for you, but you must trust me on this. You should go home before Eliana has another one of her fits.”   
  
Anneliese felt numb.  
  
Was this really happening? She nodded to the woman’s words, who smiled warmly at her, with a hint of sympathy, before she turned around and left the costume girl alone in the shadows of back stage.   
  
Eliana’s harpy voice filled the auditorium, and Anneliese found herself burning with anger. She had never met anyone in her whole life that she wished that much ill will upon on. And the louder Eliana sang, the more anger was starting to boil in Anneliese’s blood.   
  
No, she would find her brother, she would find him right now!  
  
And… she had an odd feeling…   
  
The smell of tobacco filled her nostrils and she turned her head to see three stage men chuckling amongst each other.  
  
The odd feeling grew more and more…   
  
“You!” she hissed, approaching them without a thought or care that they could harm her if she angered them.   
  
“You know something about my brother! When did you last see him?!”   
  
They stared at her with their jaws dropped, amazed at her boldness to approach with such a tone, and found themselves intimidated with her.   
  
“W-What?” one of them asked.  
  
“Mr. James Romero! My brother! The violinist! Have you seen him at all?!” she demanded.   
  
They glanced at each other and then looked back at her, their faces expressing worry.   
  
“What?! Tell me!” she demanded, knowing that they knew something.  
  
One of them sighed and shook his head, “We tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. He was too stubborn.”   
  
Anneliese grabbed the man by his shoulders and shook him hard, despite being much smaller then him. The found himself surprised by the girl’s strength.  
  
“TELL ME!”   
  
The man shook Anneliese’s hands off of him.  
  
“He went below!” he grunted.   
  
“Down… down there…” he pointed to a door that was just a few feet away.  
  
“I’m sorry, Miss. But… he’s gone.”   
  
“G-Gone?” Anneliese asked, her voice trembling, not wanting to hear what they were going to tell her.   
  
“No one is allowed their without the God’s permission. Everyone knows that. We tired to warn him, over and over… but he just wouldn’t listen.”   
  
Anneliese stared at the door while the stage men continued, “I’m sorry, Miss. But… you’ll never see your brother again.”   
  
“NO!” Anneliese shouted, walking over to the door and gripping the handle with both hands before pulling it open.  
  
“I’ll find him and I’ll bring him back!” she swore.  
  
The men stared at her, “Miss, you can’t be serious! The God! He’ll… he’ll kill you if you go down there-“  
  
“OH TO HELL WITH THE GOD!” Anneliese cried out in anger.  
  
“I don’t care… I’m going to find my brother!”  
  
She grabbed one of the lit on oil lamps that was back stage and disappeared into the darkness, closing the door behind her.  
  
The stage men stared in shock at the now closed door. The costume girl was certainly doomed, just like her violinist brother. The God had never shown mercy to any one, everyone in the theatre knew that. The stage men began to pray for the brave girl, who had just entered the mouth of theatre’s hell.


	7. Making A Choice

The clang of the back stage door closing behind her sounded like an iron gate that was locking her inside. Anneliese stood silent for a moment, holding the oil lamp with a shaking hand and observing the never ending darkness that laid before her. She was alone; no one had chosen to follow her, for they were too afraid, and Anneliese could hear a tiny voice in her head, telling her how foolish it was for to go into the unknown all by herself.  
  
But her brother needed her. He was down here somewhere, she could feel it. He could be hurt, he could be trapped, he could be lost in the shadows. She had to find him, she had to save him. He was all that she had left in this world.   
  
Anneliese took a deep breath and reached up to touch a rusty locket that hung around her neck. The metal was tarnished and beyond repair, but inside of it was a picture of Anneliese’s parents, and it was all Anneliese had left of them. She silently prayed, and with that, she ventured into the dark unknown.

* * *

“She’s… she’s here!” Skyla cried out happily.   
  
Despite being small, she was jumping high around like a cheerful child on Christmas, clapping her hands and grinning madly.  
  
Wanda, who had fallen asleep near the spinning wheel that they had only a little while ago had gone to fetch, woke up to Skyla’s joyful dancing.  
  
“She’s here, Wanda!” she said, grabbing the young woman and hugging her tightly.  
  
“She’s come at last!”  
  
Wanda squealed when she felt her breathing becoming harder.  
  
“Skyla! Please, let me go!” she cried, preferring to breath than choke to her death.   
  
Skyla blushed and immediately lets the young woman go, but her grin did not disappear.   
  
Wanda straightened herself up, “What on earth are you talking about?”   
  
Skyla found herself dancing again, “The princess! I… I know it’s her!”   
  
Wanda sighed, regretting telling her that story in the first place, “Skyla, that’s only a story, there is no-“  
  
“NO!” she shouted, her smile disappearing.   
  
“I saw her! She’s here! She’s wandering around the old prop room!”  
  
Wanda stared at Skyla, her brow furrowed. She knew Skyla could get carried away with the stories that read to her, but this time it was different. She could tell by looking into her eyes that what she was saying was true. She had seen a girl, and that girl that she had seen… was here.  
  
“Near the old prop room?” she asked, feeling her feet carrying her way out from the cavern that they had been occupying.  
  
Skyla simply nodded before giggling again. Wanda was glad that at least she was, but her blood ran cold at the thought of an innocent girl becoming another victim of Loki’s booby trap… or worse, of Loki’s rage.  
  
“Come, Skyla,” she whispered.  
  
“Take me to her.” 

* * *

In a further cavern, Pietro sat by the candlelight, reading quietly. Bucky was sitting a few feet away, sharpening a knife on an old piece of leather. Now and then he would glance at the young man, rolling his eyes as he watched Pietro lean closer to the book he was holding.  
  
“How many times have you read that stupid thing?” Bucky asked irritably.  
  
Pietro made no comment.  
  
“Waste of time,” Bucky grumbled.   
  
Without lifting his head, Pietro muttered, “I have nothing to say to you, so you can continue with sharpening your toy and leave me to read in peace.”   
  
Bucky casted an angry glare at Pietro, “What’s wrong with you?”  
  
“You mean besides the countless you mock me?” Pietro muttered, still not looking up.  
  
“How about… you running to his Majesty to tattle on the rest of us?”   
  
Bucky rolled his eyes and rose up to his feet.  
  
“That man was a trespasser! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?!” he threw his arms up in frustration.  
  
“Tell me something, Pietro… did you like Hydra?! Did you like being tested on like some test rat?! Because I know that I didn’t! And I’m never going back there!”  
  
Pietro sighed, “The man only wanted the spinning wheel-“   
  
“And the second he would back up the surface, he would tell everyone about us down here and mob would be after us in a second! Think what you like, Pietro! You’re wrong! I, for one, share his Majesty’s feeling! I, for one, will not go against his Majesty’s orders! I-“  
  
“James?”   
  
The word was soft and distant, but it rang and clear and both were silenced immediately when hearing it.  
  
“W-What was that?” Bucky asked, whirling his head around the cavern.  
  
Silence, and then another call.   
  
“James?”  
  
This time it sounded closer.  
  
“It sounds like… a girl?”  
  
“A GIRL!” Bucky exclaimed, his eyes widened in horror.   
  
“Will we never have peace?! How are these people finding us?!”   
  
“Quiet!” Pietro ordered.   
  
Both he and Bucky moved to a crack in the wall, peering out to if the voice was coming from there.  
  
Sure enough, after a few seconds, a small light appeared in the distance, and with it came another cry, “James? Can you hear me? Are you there?”   
  
“It is a girl,” Pietro whispered.  
  
“I KNOW WHAT IT IS!” Bucky exploded.  
  
“WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS HOW WE GET RID OF HER!”   
  
Pietro winced at Bucky’s reaction, and then became pale when he heard, “James? Is that… you?”   
  
“See what you’ve done!” Pietro hissed.  
  
“She’s heading this way!”   
  
“No… I… I’m not going back there… I’m never going back there!” Bucky mumbled to himself, stepping back frantically and stumbling.  
  
“Get a hold of yourself!”   
  
But it was no use. Despite Pietro’s attempts to calm him down, Bucky rose up to his feet and immediately ran into a dark passageway, calling out for the King.   
  
Damn!   
  
“James?”  
  
Pietro froze; the voice was nearly there!   
  
He quickly used his power to get away, leaving his book and candle behind.  
  
Anneliese heard the sound of… running footsteps?  
  
She wasn’t sure, but she quickly followed the sound, especially as she heard the sound going faster.  
  
“Wait!” she cried out.  
  
“Please, I’m trying to find my brother-“   
  
She entered the cavern and saw a small candle glowing as brightly as it could, lying next to an open book. Someone was here.  
  
It could’ve been her brother, but… why would he run from her?   
  
The fast footsteps echoed against the cavern walls, coming from a dark tunnel; Anneliese took off after it.  
  
“James! Please! Don’t run away! I just want to find my brother, Mr. James Romero! Please! I-“   
  
“A-Anneliese?”   
  
Anneliese froze as her brother’s voice filled her ears.  
  
He was alive.  
  
He was _here_!  
  
“JAMES!” she cried out, whirling around in the darkness, trying to find him.   
  
She lifted her lamp, which was quickly running out of oil, to try and find him. His voice sounded extremely faint, she could hear his ragged breathing, which got interrupted by coughs.   
  
“James, where are you? I can’t see…”  
  
“It… doesn’t… matter!” he said through his coughs.  
  
“You must… get yourself out of here!”   
  
She continued to look around, and finally, in a small corner of the stone floor, she saw a small iron cell, and her brother’s hands clinging to the bars.  
  
“JAMES!” she cried, rushing over to the bars and immediately grasped a hold of the cold iron and attempted to force it open.  
  
It was hopeless though, the bars were too strong, and it was clear that the tiny door was locked. She looked down at her brother, horrified to see him lying on his back in such a tiny place. His face was hidden in the shadows, but his hands gripped the bars with all his strength. He was wet too, his body barely rising from the murky water that surrounded his small prison.   
  
The space was so tiny, it was like he was being… buried.   
  
“Anneliese-“  
  
“Who’s done this to you?” she asked angrily, placing the lamp down and went through her hair to find a hairpin.   
  
She remembered from the novels that her mother read to her a story about a woman who picked a lock with only a hairpin. She prayed that that part of the story was true.  
  
“There’s no time, my dear! You must go, now!”  
  
“No! I’m not going to leave you here to waste away into the earth!” she went to work to pick the lock, cursing the bitter cold for making her hands shaky.   
  
“Anneliese, please! If you love me, you’ll leave this place! He could be here any second!”  
  
“Who?” she asked, not stopping one second with picking the lock.  
  
It was the only way to avoid her fear taking over her.   
  
“The God! He’s real, Anneliese! He’ll kill you for sure! He’s-“  
  
“Right behind you.”   
  
Anneliese froze. The voice was silky, more elegant than she had ever heard, but every hair on her skin stood on end at the growl that vibrated around the cavern walls.   
  
Before she could turn her head, a cold hand grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around. It was so fast, that her oil lamp broke and she was encased in darkness.  
  
“W-Who’s there?! What do you want with us?!”   
  
She could hear movement, and felt a cold wind hit her face with each step.  
  
“Who am I?” his voice was a British, sinister growl that sent freezing shivers down her spine.   
  
“Your brother knows…”  
  
“RUN, ANNELIESE! SAVE YOURSELF!” the young man shouted.  
  
Anneliese had never felt so frightened in her whole life. She reached for the locket of her mother and pressed it tightly to her heart.  
  
She wanted to run, she wanted to flee for her life, but she couldn’t abandon her brother!   
  
She prayed for courage, prayed for resourcefulness, prayed for anything to have this… creature, show mercy for both her and her brother.   
  
“Please, let my brother go…” she whispered.  
  
“He didn’t mean any harm, it was just a mistake-“   
  
“MISTAKE?!” he shouted, causing the cavern walls to shake.   
  
“HE KNEW THE RULES! NO ONE IS ALLOWED DOWN HERE! NO ONE!”   
  
Anneliese yelped, covering her head with her hands, afraid that a piece of rock would come crashing down and hit her. The movement continued, and Anneliese closed her eyes, forcing herself to not cry.  
  
She had to be brave!   
  
“P-Please…” she whispered.  
  
“My brother… he’ll catch his death if he stays in there…”   
  
A dark, menacing chuckle came from the God’s lips.  
  
“Catch his death?” he chuckled some more.   
  
“My dear… I am death.”   
  
The chuckles were more than Anneliese could take. She found her anger burning up at the sound of laughter, at the sound of someone mocking her concern for another human being.   
  
She quickly stood up and straightened her shoulders, “You want to punish someone so badly?! Fine! TAKE ME!”   
  
The God’s laughter immediately stopped at that statement.   
  
There was a long pause of silence before James started to protest, “Anneliese! W-What are you saying?! Don’t do this!”   
  
The God looked at the girl before him. Living in the darkness for years had made his eyes getting adapted to the point that he could see clearly in the shadows. Indeed, he had never seen the costume girl like this before.   
  
She was small; the top of her head would only reach to his chin. But she was not a weakling. She looked actually strong for someone smaller than him, and his eyes began looking up and down at her body.   
  
She wore a simple blue dress, which lacked detail.   
  
She was certainly not thin, but deliciously curved; indeed, he couldn’t help himself from gazing at her chest which rose and fell with every breath.  
  
Her hair was a shade of light brown, cascading down her shoulders and was curled in beautiful waves that almost seemed to have a life on its own.  
  
Her beautiful face was a natural beauty, with rosy cheeks that Eliana could never create with her overload amount make-up that she threw on herself.  
  
Her skin was fair, not pale as a ghost. It gave her a healthy glow.  
  
Her eyes were wild, a light shade of blue, and they held a lot of fire in them. Of course he knew that she was spirited, he had witnessed that several times now since she had come to his theatre.  
  
Indeed… having her as his personal slave was not an idea that he was against to. He moved around her, knowing that she couldn’t see him, but enjoyed how she was looking for him whenever she felt the breeze billowing from his cape.  
  
“Do you know what you’re asking?” he whispered darkly.  
  
Anneliese lifted her chin up, “Yes.”   
  
“Are you sure?” he asked, his hand reaching out with touch that felt like a breeze of the wind, brushing against her hair.  
  
“Because there’s no going back. You do this, you can’t return. You’ll be mine… forever.”   
  
Anneliese gulped. Trapped for eternity in this hell, no sunlight, no love… nothing. But a protesting cough coming from James’ lips made Anneliese decide.  
  
“I promise,” she said a shaky voice, holding the locket tightly in her hands.  
  
“I will stay and take his place.”  
  
“NO, ANNELIESE! NO!”  
  
The God breathed out a heavy sigh, amazed how patient he had been while waiting for her decision.   
  
“Then it is done,” he said with a growl, removing a key from his pocket and quickly unlocking the small cell door that contained James.   
  
Anneliese crumbled to the floor, gasping for air as the weight of what had just happened fell over her. She had agreed to be this man’s prisoner, his… his slave, for… who knows what. She trembled at the thought and felt like she could throw up.  
  
“Anneliese! What have you done?!” she felt James envelope her in a hug, and she turned around to cling on him.   
  
“I’ve lived most of my life, but you’re still so young with so much to be offered for you! Please, don’t do this! I-“   
  
He was yanked out of her arms violently by the unseen God before Anneliese had the opportunity to say anything back to him.  
  
“Wait!” she cried out into the darkness, her hands trying to find her brother, but finding nothing.  
  
“Please! Let me say goodbye to him!”  
  
But her pleas fell on deaf ears.  
  
“BUCKY!” the God called out.   
  
The man immediately appeared, and the God pushed the young man into his arms.  
  
“Take him away,” he growled.   
  
“No! Please! Spare my little sister! Take me back in her place!” James cried.  
  
Bucky was still in shock, “T-Take him away? You mean… release him? Your Majesty, are you sure that it’s a wise idea?”   
  
One glare of the God said enough for Bucky to know. He quickly dragged the screaming, young man away, leaving the God alone was his now silent prisoner.  
  
Anneliese felt and was numb. She laid crumpled on the floor, her breathing slow and uneven.   
  
Did this just happen? Was it not this morning that James had roused her out of bed, happy and excited for the play that would be taking place? Wasn’t it a week ago they had arrived in New York with such high hopes?   
  
She’d lost her brother; she’d lost everything she had ever dreamed for. She was truly alone.   
  
The God looked at the girl that laid before him. She looked so small and fragile compared to the other times that he had seen her. The spirit that so much admired was gone. He had expected the woman to be all hysteric, sobbing endlessly or attacking him with whatever mortal strength she has. But this was not what he had expected; a mute shell of a woman. She simply laid there, lifeless, except for the odd sounds her breathing made.  
  
Now what? Should he approach her? But if he did, then what?   
  
The prison, where he had placed the young man in, was an ancient torture chamber where the victim was boxed in a tiny place, while water slowly flooded into the area, bringing the horrible reality that person whose trapped in there would soon be drowned.  
  
He couldn’t put her in there, even though she was a trespasser and deserved death like all the others before her. He had never killed a woman before; frightened a few into insanity, sure, but never had he killed one.  
  
It was clear that he hadn’t thought his plan through. However, to his credit, it had landed onto him out of nowhere. He had to do something with her, he couldn’t just leave her here with the opportunity to escape from him; she could end up killing herself by one of his many booby traps.  
  
Women; he was starting to understand why he never got involved with any of them; they were too much of a trouble to try and figure out what to do with them!  
  
“Wanda,” he softly muttered.   
  
The young woman appeared at the sound of her name.   
  
“Take the girl… to the Southern chamber.”  
  
Wanda stared at him, “But, your Majesty… That’s where the costume cages are kept-“   
  
“Exactly,” he simply said.  
  
“Place her in one of them until I decide what to do with her. Or at least till the play is finished.”  
  
Wanda couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “You’re going back to the play?”   
  
The God looked down at the young woman, wondering why she was so shocked, “It’s opening night, Wanda. I must see that everything is going as it should.”  
  
“BUT… THE GIRL!” she shouted.   
  
Anneliese still laid lifeless on the ground, not even flinching about the conversation that was taking place.  
  
“Your Majesty… you cannot leave, at least not now. We must… we must do something; she’s only a young girl, look at her! She’d just lost her brother and her freedom-“  
  
“THEN SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE TRESPASSED!” he growled harshly.   
  
Wanda jumped and took a step back, not wishing to anger Loki more than that he already was. That was the one fate she did not wish onto the poor girl.  
  
He groaned and ran a hand through his black hair, “Just… do as I say. Take her to the Southern cavern, lock her up in one of the cages, and after the play, I will be down to see her.”  
  
“Yes, your Majesty,” she whispered.  
  
Satisfied, Loki turned around to leave, but a soft voice stopped him dead in his tracks.  
  
“Before you go…” came the faint voice of the costume girl, “I have only one favour to ask…”   
  
A deathly silence was filled into the cave.  
  
“Let me look at my captor… so that I know the monster to who I have given my life away to.”  
  
Her words were bitter, filled with anger and hatred. It was, of course, expected, but Loki had no pity for the girl. It was her decision and she gave him her word. It was too late for her. And because of that, he had no problem granting her that small request.  
  
Without saying a word, he lit on a match and walked over to the far side of the cavern wall. Every cavern had a candleholder, and Loki proceeded to light it, his back to the costume girl.  
  
As the light slowly started to illuminate the room, Anneliese peered through the shadows and began to make out a shape. It was tall, thin, and black. She realized that the blackness came from his cape that hung from his shoulders all the way to his ankles.  
  
Slowly, very slowly, he turned around, revealing more of himself to her. His body was very long and thin, but he didn’t look like a stick man.  
  
She squinted, thinking she could see more in the darkness.   
  
“Come into the light and remove your cape…” she whispered.   
  
Without a word, he slowly moved forward and lifted his head to where the candlelight was shining.  
  
She saw green eyes, like shining emeralds, glaring back into her blue ones.  
  
His face was pale, one half looked like it was perfectly sculpted, but the other half caused her eyes to widen and almost making her heart stop. The paleness that she had already seen in the darkness belonged to a mask; a smooth off-white mask that covered the right side of his face, from the corners of his mouth all the way up to his forehead.   
  
His body looked strong, despite being so thin. She could make out a few muscles that were covered under his clothes, giving her the proof that this man is very powerful.   
  
Long, raven-black hair fell down to his shoulder, looking smoothly and almost flowy like.   
  
He wore a black suit with green and gold embroidery decorating it a bit.  
  
She was frozen in shock at this handsome, mysterious creature. It was true… everything she had heard from the stage men and the dancers; the God was real.  
  
  
  
  
  
Loki held his arms out, like he was displaying himself, “Behold your captor, my dear. Behold your eternity.”   
  
She said nothing. Her eyes fluttered, before rolling back and she collapsed on the floor.


	8. The Truth

Her head hurts. Anneliese slowly woke up, her head throbbing with pain, like someone had banged her head with a brick.   
  
Why did her pillow feel so hard? Like it almost felt like… stone?   
  
Her eyes flew open as sudden memories came into her mind.   
  
“Please… it has to have been a nightmare…” she whispered to herself.   
  
But as her eyes slowly took in the dimly light that surrounded her, she could see that her nightmare was more terrifying than she could’ve possibly imagined.  
  
Bars. Before her was nothing but cold, iron bars. She was in a cage.  
  
“No…” she whispered, quickly rising back up to her feet.  
  
“Hello?!” she cried out, banging on the bars, knowing that she couldn’t pry them apart, but she still tried.  
  
“Someone?! Please?! HELP ME! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!” she continued banging on the bars, praying that someone here… other than the God, would hear her cries.  
  
The God. She trembled as she remembered him, standing before her, a handsome creature, covered in black, darker than midnight, except for his white mask.   
  
Why did he wear a mask? What was he? Was what she saw real? Was it to enhance the terror of his already big reputation? Or… was it for something far more sinister?   
  
She recalled some of the stories she had heard the ballerinas chattering about when Madame Natasha was not present. Stories about the God and his terrifying face.   
  
However, his face was the least of her worries right now.   
  
James!   
  
The God had her brother removed… but where? Did he release him like he had promised? Or was it all just a trick? A trick to have his revenge on her brother while still keeping her for…   
  
Her stomach twisted at the thought, and felt like throwing up.   
  
No! She would not let any man have her, not in that way, ever! She would rather kill herself before that would happen!  
  
Or kill him…   
  
“There must be a way out of here,” she muttered, stepping away from the bars and examining her prison.  
  
Was there a door?  
  
She couldn’t see one, but there had to be one!   
  
She peered all around her, noticing suddenly hanging racks filled with nothing fancy costumes… costumes that she realized that had been long since forgotten.  
  
Perhaps there was a door behind the racks!  
  
She pushed through the fabric, trying to see if she could find anything, when a loud thump startled her.   
  
Anneliese whirled around to where the noise had come from, peering out past the bars, but saw no one.   
  
“H-Hello?” she asked with a shaky voice.   
  
She could hear breathing, but she saw no one!   
  
“Is someone there? Hello?”  
  
Nothing…   
  
And then, “SHE’S AWAKE!”   
  
Anneliese screamed as a short girl emerged from the shadows out of nowhere, her face pressed against the bar.   
  
“She’s awake! She’s…” she stopped when she realized Anneliese was screaming, and then she too, started to scream.  
  
“Skyla! Stop it at once!” a figure cried.   
  
A young man came fast from a cavern, but the speed he used was not humanly possible. Anneliese continued to scream as the young man turned to her, biting his lip with worry.  
  
“Please, don’t scream, Miss! You’ll only frighten Skyla more!”   
  
Skyla continued screaming, her cry terrifying and sharp, which caused the ceiling of the cavern to shake.  
  
“SKYLA!” as if one cue, the noise stopped, as another person emerged, throwing off her cape and immediately coming to the short girl’s side to comfort her.  
  
“There, there,” she whispered.  
  
“It’s alright. You just startled her, that’s all. She’s not terrified of you… She won’t hurt you…”   
  
Anneliese stared in bewilderment at the three figures that were outside her cage. A young red-haired woman, a short girl, and a young man with speed powers; they were all…   
  
“Strange,” the red-haired woman said, like she had read Anneliese’s thoughts.  
  
“We accept it,” she sighed, finally calming Skyla down to where she sat on the ground with her legs crossed over each other, staring at Anneliese through the bars.  
  
Satisfied, the young woman turned around and curtsied.  
  
“My name is Wanda Maximoff,” she greeted kindly.   
  
“And this is my twin brother, Pietro Maximoff,” she added, indicating to the young man.  
  
“And… well, you’ve met Skyla,” she said with a smile, rubbing her hand on the short girl’s shoulder.  
  
Anneliese was lost for words; she didn’t know what to say!   
  
“W-Who… h-how…”   
  
Pietro cleared his throat and began to speak.  
  
“We work for his Majesty, and… we were told to keep an eye on you once you would wake up,” he explained.  
  
“His Majesty?” Anneliese asked, staring at the three of them.   
  
“Do you mean… the God?”   
  
Pietro and Wanda exchanged glances at each other.  
  
“Well,” Pietro muttered.   
  
“That is one name of him… but he prefers that we call him ‘Majesty’.”   
  
Despite the chaos of this whole situation, Anneliese’s face changed into anger at those words.  
  
“Well, he is no king to me,” she hissed, before turning her face from them so they wouldn’t see her angry tears that were threatening to show.  
  
Wanda sighed and approached the cage with a look of sympathy, “My dear… please do not despair… His Majesty is truly good-“   
  
“GOOD?!” Anneliese whirled around at those words.  
  
“Good?! He imprisoned my brother! He threatened to kill us both! I’M LOCKED UP INSIDE A CAGE!” she shouted, throwing a rock at the bars.   
  
The three figures stepped backwards and Skyla whimpered. Wanda quickly placed a calm hand on the short girl’s shoulder and her whimpering stopped.   
  
The girl was right; their King had behaved like a monster earlier, how else would she think of him?   
  
Anneliese stared at the figures and then turned away, sitting on the rocky ground, her legs tucked under her chin.  
  
Wanda stared at the girl’s broken form, sighed, and then turned to the others, “Why don’t you both go and wait for his Majesty to return.”  
  
Pietro got the hint and led Skyla with him.  
  
“Goodbye, princess!” Skyla said happily, before turning around and leaving with Pietro.   
  
Anneliese slightly turned her head to watch the two figures leave. Wanda smiled softly, although her eyes shone brightly with sympathy.  
  
“Skyla loves the story of Beauty and the Beast… She’s very fond of the heroine of the story… Now, whenever she sees a beautiful woman, she thinks she’s Belle,” she chuckled softly.   
  
Anneliese still remained frozen.  
  
“My dear-“   
  
“Please,” Anneliese whispered, “just… just leave me alone.”   
  
Wanda bit her lip, “W-Would you like me to bring you something? A hot drink? Are you hungry? I-“  
  
“Please go,” Anneliese whispered again, hugging her legs closer to her.   
  
Wanda sighed and lowered her head in defeat. Time was what the girl needed now.  
  
“Here, in case you have it cold,” the young woman whispered, pushing a wool blanket through the bars.   
  
Anneliese didn’t say a word, she simply sat where she was.  
  
Wanda sighed and began to walk away. Yet she stopped, pausing, and then turned around one more time.   
  
“I just… I just want to say… that I think that what you did was extremely brave. I don’t think a lot of people would’ve been brave enough to do what you did…”  
  
Anneliese still didn’t response.  
  
Wanda gave a soft smile, tears glistening in her own eyes, before turning around and leaving the girl alone in a cage of iron and despair.   
  
For a long time she sat there, still like a mouse, listening to her surroundings, listening to the agonizing sound of footsteps. But none came. She turned her head slightly, looking around her dim surroundings **(a single torch illuminated the cavern, which hung only near the cavern’s only entrance)** , and satisfied that she was finally alone, she sprung up to her feet and frantically began to look for a way out of her prison.   
  
_“Somewhere… I know there has to be a door somewhere!”_   
  
She pushed through the layers of dusty cob-webbed covered costumes, coughing and sneezing a few times, desperately seeking her way out. And then… at last, hiding behind a heavy, black drape, she finally found it… the small door that kept her from her freedom.  
  
It was locked, like she had suspected, but that didn’t matter.  
  
She would get out, she was determined!   
  
She grabbed the last hairpin that she had, causing her already loosely hair to fall down completely over her shoulders, and began to work. She had to hurry up, for she could hear the last chorus of play being sung. 

* * *

“HEY! GET OUT OF HERE! THIS IS NO PLACE FOR DRUNKARDS OR BEGGARS!”   
  
James gasped in pain as he felt a sharp, thick boot kick him hard in his side. He glanced up, his eyes red and swollen, seeing a man in a maroon uniform glaring down at him. He immediately recognized the uniform that belonged to one of the doormen of Broadway.   
  
Why was he outside the theatre, and why was this man kicking him and urging him to move along?   
  
And then it all came back.   
  
“ANNELIESE!” James cried, quickly rising up to his feet as fast as his body would allow.   
  
“My sister! Oh you must help me!” he cried, gripping the lapels of the doorman’s uniform.  
  
“He has her! He has my little sister!”   
  
“GET OFF!” the doorman shouted, shoving James away from him.  
  
“And move before I’ll call the police!”  
  
Police?  
  
Yes! That was exactly what he needed!  
  
“Yes! Please! We must get the police at once! I need to speak with Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Stark! They will help me, I know it!”   
  
The doorman stopped James and shoved him again, this time sending the young man to the ground.   
  
“GET OUT OF HERE, YOU DRUNKEN FOOL!” he shook his hand in a threatening manner, and James suddenly realized in his state of panic that the man wasn’t going to let him through.   
  
The man didn’t know him, and James looked at his now tattered coat and mud-caked clothes, knowing it was a lost cause.   
  
Who would believe that he was an employee of the Broadway Theatre?   
  
“Are you deaf, stupid man?! I SAID GO!”  
  
James quickly up to his feet before the doorman had the opportunity to kick him again. He quickly ran away, hearing the doorman’s threats behind him.  
  
He knew that he needed to find someone to help him… but who? Would the police believe him?  
  
No, he needed someone that knew him, someone who would help him find a way to get Anneliese back!  
  
But who? Who had such influence to help a distressed young man?

* * *

“And… remember the way she paused, because there was supposed to be… that violin solo!” laughed a elegantly dressed gentleman, before taking another drink of his glass.   
  
A small group of men erupted with laughter, pounding each other on their backs, lightening cigarettes, and drinking brandy as the minutes ticked by.  
  
“That was priceless…” another one chuckled.   
  
“Oh, Dawson! You surely picked a good star! At least we all have now something to entertain us at that bloody place!”   
  
Julian tried to give his friend a small smile at that comment, his hand rubbing over his forehead as dealt with his irritation inside. The evening was somewhat short of horrible. At least the horridness went away when Eliana wasn’t on stage. Unfortunately, there were only three scenes in the play when she made no appearance. And despite the money he was making out off her name and her so-called talents, he hated it to feel like a fool, which was exactly what his friends were making him feel.   
  
“She reminded me of my dog,” one of the men added.   
  
“Except, I think that bitch can actually hit a proper note!” the others burst out in laughter, but Julian just simply glared.  
  
“Oh come now, Dawson,” a brown-haired man chuckled.  
  
“Despite the woman’s less than spectacular performance, tonight was a success.”   
  
“Here, here!” the others crowed.  
  
“Indeed!” the brown-haired man continued.   
  
“No doubt, thanks to our friend Walsh,” he said, lifting his glass in the direction of a red-haired gentleman who was sitting with them, “who, as we all know, has such a high influence with the papers, a good review will be published and more and more people will come to see the woman, and more money will be placed in our pockets! See?! Everybody wins!”   
  
Julian gave a glare to his friend, but then a smile formed on his lips.   
  
“Indeed, you’re right, Wagner,” he said, raising his glass.  
  
“To Eliana Jones and the money she will bring to us all… wasn’t I right to encourage you to invest with Broadway?”   
  
The men chuckled, “Indeed, except for poor Werner, who only goes because his wife insists!”   
  
Jaime Werner gave the others a glare, “How else am I to convince Laila that I’m not going out every night to be with my mistress?! I swear, the woman has spies following me!”   
  
“Oh who gives a damn what the woman thinks,” Oliver Wagner grumbled.  
  
“It’s your own bloody that you got married in the first place!”   
  
“I needed an heir!” Jaime defended himself.  
  
“Don’t we all?” Seamus Walsh added.  
  
“Yet you don’t hear us, who are married, complaining. Why? Because we know who is the head of our households, and it’s not our bloody wives!” several other men cheered at Seamus words and lifted their glasses in a toast.   
  
“Too true,” Oliver added, lighting another cigarette.   
  
“Really Werner, the next thing you’re going to tell us is that she insists that you actually give her pleasure when you’re fucking her!”   
  
“If she lets you,” Seamus added.   
  
The men burst out in laughter while Jaime turned red.  
  
“Leave the man alone,” Julian interjected, although he had been laughing with the others as well.  
  
“The point of having a mistress is so that you don’t have to sleep with your wife! And Werner is the only one who’s future is secured with two heirs.”  
  
“Legitimate heirs,” Jaime grumbled.  
  
“Here, here,” Seamus chuckled.  
  
“Speaking of mistresses,” Oliver commented, “how is it going with the dried up soprano?”  
  
Julian was sipping his brandy when he heard those words. He glared from the rim of his glass at his friend, but forced a polite smile on his face.  
  
“She still serves her purposes,” he simply said.  
  
“And you, good man? Still pursuing young male singers?”   
  
Oliver turned beet red while the other men burst out in laughter. Julian couldn’t help but grin wickedly.  
  
“Come now, Wagner,” he muttered with a cigarette between his lips.   
  
“We’re all friends, are we not?”  
  
Oliver forced a smile at Julian, “Actually, I’ve met a gorgeous ballerina by the name of Cristina Burton. Very beautiful for a dancer, and has a mouth like you wouldn’t believe… not to mention a throat…”   
  
The others were leaning closer, practically drooling at the man’s words.  
  
“And she tells me, Dawson, that you’ve been attempting to… seduce the new costume girl?”   
  
The other men turned to Julian with surprised looks, “A costume girl? Julian, I distinctly remember you saying that the lowest a man could sink was with a chorus girl… but a costume girl? What has fucking Eliana done to you?”  
  
Before Julian could speak, Oliver continued, “Not only has he been attempting to lure this girl into his bed-“   
  
“Or lounge,” Jaime chuckled.  
  
“But it seems that… could it be… the costume girl has rejected you?”   
  
The others stared in horror, “Dawson… if a mere costume girl rejects you… there’s no hope for the rest of us anymore.”   
  
“She didn’t reject me!” Julian growled, biting on his cigarette.   
  
“And I will have that girl… and if you had seen her, you’d understand she’s worth the pursuit! Delicious curves, a bottom that’s never felt anything other than the fabric of her undergarments… not to mention delicate, small hands that could grip anything hard and thick…”  
  
Now the men were drooling at Julian’s description of the costume girl. Oliver snorted with disgust, causing the trance to break.  
  
“Point being that you haven’t succeeded to bed her,” he grumbled.  
  
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentleman, I am meeting up with delicate Cristina, who is going to introduce me to one of dear little friends, and the three of us are going back to my apartment for a private party, while you sorry lot sit here and smoke cigarettes with one another. Good evening,” he said, before bowing his head and heading towards the door.   
  
Yet, the second Oliver reached it, a young man, looking frantic, burst inside, crying Julian’s last name, “Mr. Dawson?! I’m looking for Mr. Dawson! Have you seen him?! Anyone?! Please!”   
  
Oliver looked at Julian from across the room, and Julian rose up to his feet, locking eyes with his friend before looking at the dirty young man.  
  
“Please! I have to find him! He can help me, I know it! I- MR. DAWSON!” James rushed to Julian’s side and fell practically on his knees.  
  
“Sir, you must help me! Please! He has her! He’s taken her! WE MUST GET THE POLICE!”   
  
“Who are you?” Julian asked in disgust, moving away from the lunatic that had fallen on his knees for him.  
  
James glanced up, surprised by Julian’s words, not to mention his tone. But then again, he was covered in mud and dirt, he was probably unrecognizable.  
  
“It’s me, Sir! The violinist? Mr. James Romero? You once complimented me on my playing.”   
  
“Did I?” Julian asked, lifting his eyebrow.  
  
“I confess, I don’t remember speaking to someone like you… but then again, the theatre is filled with many…” he looked James up and down before removing his perfumed handkerchief and lifted it to his nose.  
  
“Anyway, why did you come here, sir? Interrupting the merriment of my club in such distress?”   
  
“HE HAS HER, SIR! WE MUST SAVE HER! PLEASE!” James gripped Julian’s evening coat, holding on for dear life, praying that this man would believe him.  
  
Julian was overwhelmed by the stench that hung over the young man, and he managed to push him off him, coughing at the smell.  
  
“Remove him from here,” he muttered to some of the staff who had come to see what the commotion was all about.  
  
“NO! Sir, my sister is Anneliese Romero! The costume girl! You’ve spoken with her, on several occasions, am I not right?! You must help me get her back!”   
  
“Come on, you fool,” one of the staff members grumbled, dragging James away.  
  
Julian rolled his eyes, “Get her back from whom?”   
  
“THE GOD! THE GOD OF BROADWAY!”   
  
There was a brief moment of silence, before the entire room burst out into laughter. Everyone, except Julian was laughing. He hated it to talk about the God. It was a myth created by Kyle Walton, but hated that the myth continued to live on, and how there were those that felt it was necessary to make it seem real by sending threats and messages, not to mention the hysteria some people had at the theatre over the silly stories.   
  
“Get him out of here,” Julian growled, before sitting back down at his table and taking a long sip from his glass.  
  
“NO! SIR, PLEASE! HE HAS HER! WE MUST SAVE HER!”   
  
“Your sister probably ran off with a stagehand to offer him her so-called virginity. I mean, what can one expect from a costume girl?” one of them men’s comment was greeted by hysterical laughter, and James stared in horror at Julian as he was dragged away and thrown out into the streets.  
  
“STAY OUT!” they shouted at him, before slamming the door in his face.   
  
James stared at the closed doors, the horrible words still ringing in his head. The one person who he thought cared for his little sister was a trickster… and he was truly alone. The managers wouldn’t see him, no one would let him inside the Broadway Theatre, and now its most powerful patron ha abandoned him as well… not to mention that he turned out to be a snake.   
  
“I’ll go to the police myself!” James said, full of determination.   
  
“I have to safe her… I must!”

* * *

Madame Natasha had waited until the theatre was empty, except for a few stagehands that were cleaning up. She had urged Isabella to go home with several friends and explained that she had important matters to discuss with the managers.   
  
Now that she was alone, she made her way towards the secret door that she always used to get into the God’s labyrinth. But the door was locked.  
  
It had never been locked before, it was a secret passageway that only she and Loki knew!   
  
And only Loki had the power to lock it…  
  
“Good evening, madam,” Loki greeted coldly, as usual.   
  
Madame Natasha whirled around, staring in the shadows before her, until she saw a tall, masked figure image from the darkness.   
  
“Loki! W-What are you doing up here?!”   
  
“I am allowed to move freely about my theatre whenever I please,” he explained, before extending an envelope to the woman.  
  
“Here’s a note that I wish you would give to my dear managers. It’s rather thick… due to all the corrections they need to make before the next performance.”   
  
Madame Natasha stared at Loki, his face unreadable, mask or no mask.   
  
“Perhaps the performance would’ve gone better if a certain violinist was present.”   
  
Loki snorted, “I highly doubt that… that harpy can’t succeed in anything, from a simple scale of notes to the most beautiful play composed. No violin solo would’ve saved the evening.”  
  
“Where is he, Loki?” Madame Natasha asked, her body shaking in fury.  
  
She hated these games. He only said these things to prolong the agony, like a cat had caught a mouse, but was merely playing with it before killing it.  
  
Loki had been pacing around when the conversation began, but now stood frozen, his green eyes catching the dance mistress.  
  
“You know my rules,” he growled.   
  
“Loki, please! He didn’t mean you any harm, and you know it! He’s a young man, he’s barely been here long enough to anything about you! He-“  
  
“THEN IT WAS HIGH TIME THAT HE FOUND OUT!” the God barked, retreating into the shadows, his cape billowing behind him.  
  
But he wasn’t gone. Madame Natasha could still hear his breathing, she could still feel his presence in the small space.  
  
“Is he dead?” she asked, her voice filled with worry.   
  
How could she approach Anneliese with such news?   
  
“Loki?”   
  
“You know my rules, madam.”  
  
“OH DAMN YOUR RULES, LOKI! IS THE MAN DEAD?!” she had had enough of his nonsense.   
  
There was a long pause, so long that Madame Natasha wasn’t sure if he was still there. Loki had the uncanny ability to move around like… well, a ghost. Unseen, unheard, but still present.   
  
Finally, the silence was broken.   
  
“You’re forgetting yourself, madam,” he hissed from the shadows.   
  
“You forget that I allow you to enter my world. You forget that you are there a guest… and you forget the power that I have to control whether those booby traps that you pass by so easily go off or not. I do not take orders from you… and I do not answer question unless I wish to.”  
  
Madame Natasha felt a cold shiver go down her spine.  
  
Was he declaring her an enemy like all the others?   
  
The last thing the Broadway Theatre needed was a war, and she knew that if Loki’s madness is driven to the point of no return, a war was would happen. The horrible things he was doing right now were by no means the crescendo of his evilness.  
  
“Leave, madam,” Loki whispered; the harshness of his was somewhat less now, but the coldness was still present.  
  
“Go home and rest. The dance has much to work on before the next play.”  
  
Madame Natasha’s face tightened into one of anger.   
  
How dare he to tell her how to run a ballet company properly! She was the dance expert, not him!   
  
“Stick to your compositions, Loki,” she hissed.   
  
“I don’t tell you how to write music, so don’t tell me how to train my dancers.”   
  
Loki found himself taken aback by her words.

“This is my theatre, madam! I run things here!” the rage was growing in his voice.   
  
“And you shall deliver that note-“  
  
“DELIVER IT YOURSELF!” she shouted, throwing the note onto the ground and stomping on it with her boot.  
  
“I’m done playing messenger for you,” she hissed at the shadows.   
  
She turned around and began to walk away, the black skirt of her dress billowing behind her.  
  
“HOW DARE YOU-“  
  
“NO!” she cried out, whirling around.   
  
“How dare you! How dare you threaten an innocent young man! How dare you commit heartless murders! How dare you humiliate my years of extensive research and training in the art of dance!” she had never felt this much fury in her.  
  
“You know something, Loki… I am sorry that the world turned its back on, because of your face and heritage. I’m sorry that the world spat at you, that the world denied you, that the world caged and then laughed at you and called you all sort of names. But how you’re seen now is your own responsibility! You control the monster, not the world! The way you show no compassion for anyone or anything! The way you threaten others! The way you… you use women for whatever lusts you crave! And the way you talk… how this is your theatre, how these are your rules! Do you have any idea who you are sounding like?!”  
  
There was a long moment of silence.   
  
She took a deep breath, not sure if he was still there or not, but knew that she had to say it, “I see no difference, Loki… No difference whatsoever between you and Julian Dawson!”

With that, she turned around and picked up her skirt and ran, not looking back, not once.   
  
Loki was still in the shadows, he hadn’t left. He had stayed the whole time, listening to her words. He wanted to lash out, to scream, but he was frozen.  
  
Did he breath? Did his heart beat? Did he even have a heart?   
  
What did she mean by that?   
  
No difference between him and Julian… there were plenty of differences! Loki appreciated music, all Julian cared about was money! Julian was like a blonde Prince Charming, while Loki was more the disfigured villain! Yes, Loki did pay women too… but he did not leave them pregnant and ruin their promising careers!   
  
He groaned and stomped his feet to the ground, damning his uncontrollable lust for flesh, damning the world for everything it had done to him! He couldn’t go out into the world! He had been a lab rat in Hydra! His own parents had abandoned him as a child!   
  
What else could he do?   
  
He had no choice but to go into hiding, and if no one else was going to take care of the Broadway Theatre, for the art of music, then he had to!   
  
He looked like a monster, but he was not like Julian, he wasn’t… he wasn’t… he… he…  
  
“AAAAAHHHHH!” in a roar of rage, Loki headed down into one of his many passageways, down to his labyrinth, down to his hell, down to his sanctuary!   
  
And while he fled, he remembered the girl, he remembered the body that he had found himself lusting for when he first saw her there in the cavern, her fiery spirit shining like a beacon in her wild blue eyes.   
  
And he had never been more disgusted with himself. He actually thought himself above Julian, but he realized that by doing what he had intended, by turning the girl into a unwilling sexual slave for his own pleasure…   
  
Madame Natasha was right, damn it! He wasn’t any different than Julian!   
  
He shouldn’t go to her; he should leave her where she was and not have anything whatsoever to do with her! He could release her like her brother, send her away, making sure that the theatre wouldn’t take her back, getting rid of her just like he had gotten rid of the young and never be plagued by her beauty again! That would make him different from Julian!   
  
Yet despite these thoughts he found himself running, almost like he was flying, through the dark tunnels, through the dimly lit chambers, past rocks, past the underground lake, past deeply cut pits that he believed would truly lead him to hell itself. He ran to the area of his world where he knew she was kept, and he didn’t stop till he reached the cavern.   
  
It was quiet. Too quiet actually.   
  
He listened, but he didn’t hear the sound of her breathing.   
  
He quickly approached the cage, not caring if she would scream. He just had to see her. He wasn’t sure why, but feeling the need to simply look at her face, looking into her sky-blue eyes and somehow, find something in them that resembled what part of humanity he had, that didn’t reflect Julian’s, but reflected his own monster, that reflected himself.   
  
He gripped the bars, unsure what to say.   
  
What was her name?   
  
He had heard the ballerinas say it often… Annabelle? Anne?   
  
_Anneliese_! Yes!   
  
But should he reveal that he knows her name? Did it matter?   
  
He simply wanted to look at her!   
  
Her sleeping form would be enough… Anything, just…   
  
He froze.   
  
On the ground, inside the cage, laid a blanket and some costumes that had fallen from the hangers that they had been hung on. He didn’t have to peer inside to know what had happened. He already knew, because on the ground, shining softly in the torch light was glistening hairpin.   
  
And next to the hairpin, was an open door.


End file.
